On This Day, August 2, 1962…
A 21-year-old Robert Allen Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan.
In his book Chronicles, Dylan explained that he was inspired to change his name after he saw an article about jazz performer David Allyn and later some poems by Dylan Thomas. He considered the names Robert Allyn and Robert Dylan, before finally deciding on Bob Dylan.
Of course, Dylan went on to have massive success and is considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982, and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. He was also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.
Dylan’s music career in the early ’60s is about to be explored in a new movie, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as the legendary rocker. It is expected to hit theaters in December.
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