A very special postal worker, Bob Dylan (1941–) has influenced generations of singers and songwriters with poetic lyrics and a revolutionary spirit. He delivered songs that changed the way we think, feel, and listen.

“Dylan is going to influence anybody that is close to him,” said music great Johnny Cash. “As a writer some way or another. He's a powerful talent.”

“Dylan can turn a phrase,” said Lou Reed. U2’s Bono added, “Describing Dylan is like trying to talk about the pyramids.”

With a flair for street language and poetic non sequiturs, Dylan disregarded boundaries and brought vision and relevance to rock music. Jerry Garcia observed, “Dylan has written songs that touch into places people have never sung about before.”

Though the spotlight chased him, Dylan shrugged off labels and often denied his “importance.” His own hero, Woody Guthrie, was “the greatest holiest godliest one in the world.”

By the time Dylan had graduated from being the “new Guthrie,” artists like Bruce Springsteen were being called the “new Dylan.”

“Bob freed your mind the way Elvis freed your body,” said Springsteen at Dylan’s 1988 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. George Harrison declared that in 500 years, Dylan may be “the most revered name from this era, eclipsing even the Beatles.”