Bob Dylan paints himself as a man of many forms. However, one form he has left behind—his original one. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan left home at 19 and went to Minneapolis. When he headed for Minneapolis in 1959, he spent no time with his former self, as he quickly changed his name from Zimmerman to Dylan. This was merely a self-proclaimed name. It wasn’t on his birth certificate, social security, or any other form of government identification.
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Although, three years later that would change. After making quite the name for himself in the New York City Greenwich Village folks scene under his pseudonym. He seemingly believed he had outgrown and outlived his childhood name. Thus, on August 1, 1962, Zimmerman would make arguably the most personally public decision of his career: legally changing his name.
Who Was Robert Allen Zimmerman?
Born to Jewish immigrants, Abram and Beatty Zimmerman, Dylan allegedly grew up in two wildly different ways. Multiple sources say he had a troubled childhood, whereas others say he had a fairly regular middle-class upbringing. Needless to say, we don’t much about Zimmerman, but we do know a lot about Dylan.
In a 1962 interview with Cynthia Gooding, Dylan stated he “was with the carnival off and on for six years” and that he was doing “just about everything. I was a clean-up boy. I used to be on the main line on the Ferris Wheel, just run rides.” True or perpetuating the mythical man Dylan has created himself as? No one can say, though, it is fair to assume that he was ready to shed his old skin.
Out With The Old in With The New
Dylan released his debut self-titled album, Bob Dylan, in March 1962. Living under his pen name for approximately three years, the artist would go on to take the next steps by completely evaporating his former self. In 2004, Dylan told 60 Minutes, “You’re born, you know, the wrong names, wrong parents. I mean, that happens. You call yourself what you want to call yourself. This is the land of the free.”
Additionally, numerous sources Dylan’s decision to change his name to Bob Dylan stemmed from the English poet, Dylan Thomas. In accordance with Dylan’s comment, it can be surmised that he felt as if he was never Robert Allen Zimmerman from the start. Instead, he always knew he was bound to a different identity. An identity burrowed deep in his psyche waiting to reveal itself when the time was right. Or maybe, he just changed it because Robert Allen Zimmerman is too long to put on an album cover. Regardless, on August 2, 1962, Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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