Bob Dylan, born in 1941 as Robert Allen Zimmerman, had his name changed for fear of anti-Semitism. Daily Mail reports this on Tuesday based on letters written by the singer that will be auctioned next month.
“Many people have the impression that Jews are just moneylenders and merchants. They think all Jews are like that,” said the singer in a 1971 letter to close friend and blues artist Tony Glover. “But they were only because they could. That’s all they were allowed to do.”
He also explained why he chose ‘Dylan’. “I mean, it wouldn’t have worked if I had changed my name to Bob Levy. Or Bob Neuwirth. Or Bob Donut,” the singer joked.
In another letter, the ten-time Grammy winner confessed that his love song Lay Lady Lay from 1969 was not made for the soundtrack of the movie Midnight Cowboy , but was previously written in honor of Barbra Streisand.
Dylan had a worldwide breakthrough in the 1960s , releasing hits such as Like a Rolling Stone , Knockin ‘on Heavens’ Door and Hurricane . He had his name officially changed in 1962. Letters exchanged by Dylan and Glover in 1971 will be auctioned next month at the RR Auction in Boston, USA.
Lost interviews show Bob Dylan worried about anti-Semitism when he changed name https://t.co/ywabUF6DQd
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) October 28, 2020
