Robert Allen Zimmerman, known as Bob Dylan, was born in Duluth, Minnesota (USA) in 1941. A pioneer in bridging literature and popular music, he fused European and African-American rhythms for the first time, originating a revolution of a decisive influence for subsequent generations of musicians. He began to play the guitar as a teenager and it was during his stay at Minnesota University and his involvement in the folk scene that he decided to move to New York and devote himself completely to music. He released his first album, Bob Dylan, in 1961 and sold two million copies. His second album included Blowin´ in the Wind, became an anthem of the anti-war and civil rights movements in the United States. In 1964, The Times Are a-Changin´ marked an end to his period as a protest-song performer. In 1965 Highway 61 Revisited, which includes the song Like a Rolling Stone, changed the conceptions of rock`n´roll that were had at the time due to the depth of its poetic lyrics. He then appeared at the Newport Folk Festival accompanied by the group The Band, with which he performed until 1977. That year they performed a `farewell´ concert called The Last Waltz, which was chronicled and made into a documentary by Martin Scorsese. He reappeared in 1968 with John Wesley Harding after having suffered a motorcycle accident in 1966. In 1973 he wrote the soundtrack for Sam Peckimpah´s film Pat Garret & Billy the Kid, where he also played a minor role. Two years later he filmed the only movie he has directed, Renaldo and Clara, although he has participated in several films and his songs are featured in numerous soundtracks. He also co-wrote Charles Larry´s film Masked and Anonymous(2003).

During the eighties he recorded several albums centred on his new religious interests and for a while, was part of the Travelling Wilburys. In 1997 he performed in Bologna (Italy) before Pope John Paul II. A staunch advocate of social causes, he has lent his support to numerous solidarity initiatives, including Farm Aid and Live Aid, a fundraiser for famine-relief in Ethiopia. In 2006 he performed at a beach in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) before 100,000 people in what was billed as a `Concert for Peace´. To mark his 25-year career, his record label releases Biograph (1985), a five-album compilation that includes tracks that had not been previously issued. 2004 saw the publishing of his autobiography, Chronicles, Volume One, which had been preceded by several books compiling his writing and lyrics. He once again topped the American charts with his most recent album, Modern Times (2006) and won two Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary Folk/American Album and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song Someday Baby.

Throughout his career he has also won five other Grammy Awards and in 1991 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was made Commander of the French Order of the Arts and Letters and in 1997 he received the Kennedy Center Honors for a lifetime of artistic work. In 2000 he received from the King of Sweden the Polar Prize, which is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 2001 he was awarded an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for his song Things Have Changed, which was featured in the film The Wonder Boys. He was awarded an honorary degree by Princeton University and was listed as one of Time Magazine´s 100 most influential people of the 20th century. He has sold more than 90 million records over the almost half-century span of his career.