Bob Dylan's contribution to popular music is immeasurable.Venerated as rock's one true genius, Dylan is consideredresponsible for introducing a new range of topics and new lyricalcomplexity into popular music. Without Bob Dylan, rock critic DaveMarsh once claimed, there would be no popular music as weunderstand it today.
As such an exalted figure, Dylan has been the subject ofcountless books and intricate scholarship considering variousdimensions of both the man and his music. This book places newemphasis on Dylan as a rock star. Whatever else Dylan is, he is astar - iconic, charismatic, legendary, enigmatic. No one elsein popular music has maintained such star status for so long aperiod of time.
Showing how theories of stardom can help us understand both BobDylan and the history of rock music, Lee Marshall provides newinsight into how Dylan's songs acquire meaning and affectshis relationship with his fans, his critics and the recordingindustry. Marshall discusses Dylan's emergence as a star inthe folk revival (the "spokesman for a generation") andthe formative role that Dylan plays in creating a new type of music- rock - and a new type of star. Bringing the bookright up to date, he also sheds new light on how Dylan'slater career has been shaped by his earlier star image and howDylan repeatedly tried to throw off the limitations andresponsibilities of his stardom.
The book concludes by considering the revival of Dylan over thepast ten years and how Dylan's stardom has developed in a waythat contains, but is not overshadowed by, his achievements in the1960s.