Since the recent release of an acclaimed biopic about his life and career, A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan has gotten a spate of public and media attention. One area that has garnered scrutiny concerns Dylan's influences. Whose work shaped him and who did he admire? Who may have changed the direction of his music?
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One giant of the music industry who caught Dylan's eye long ago was the late Hank Williams. He wrote about Williams extensively and searchingly in his 2004 book, Bob Dylan Chronicles, Volume 1. A lengthy passage was posted on Facebook in 2019 by the Hank Williams Museum in Alabama. Dylan wrote about the galvanizing impact that Williams had on him. It was evidently very profound and lasting.
Dylan Recalled Hearing Williams Sing On The Radio
He Was Floored By What He Heard
Dylan wrote, "The first Time I heard Hank he was singing on the Grand Ole Opry, a Saturday night radio show broadcast out of Nashville." As Dylan recalled, Williams sang gems such as "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels" and "Move It On Over."
Listening on the radio, Dylan was thunderstruck. "The sound of his voice went through me like an electric rod...." He obtained some of Williams' 78s and admits that he "played them endlessly." Just like teens who were enraptured by the Beatles, Dylan was gripped by Hank Williams fever. And he never wanted it to end.
The Young Man Connected Emotionally With Williams
He Intuitively Grasped The Singer's Words And They Struck A Deep Chord
Dylan wrote in the Facebook excerpt, "Even at a young age, I identified fully with him. I didn't have to experience anything that Hank did to know what he was singing about. I'd never seen a robin weep, but could imagine it and it made me sad." Hank Williams' music must have meant so much to the impressionable young Dylan. Thus he was absolutely crestfallen to learn about his idol's untimely death at age 29 on New Year's Day 1953 in West Virginia. The cause was reportedly heart-related.
Dylan seemed beyond solace. He wrote, "It was like a great tree had fallen. Hearing about Hank's death caught me squarely on the shoulder. The silence of outer space never seemed so loud. Intuitively I knew, though, that his voice would never drop out of sight or fade away - a voice like a beautiful horn."
He studied Williams' songs with the passionate, driven intensity of a scientist. Dylan was eager to unravel their magic. "You can learn a lot about the structure of songwriting by listening to his records, and I listened to them a lot and had them internalized." Indeed he did.
