When Salina musician Teresa Weaver picked up her first guitar at age 16, she learned to play by listening to songwriters like Bob Dylan.

More than 40 years later, she still plays selected Dylan songs as one-half of the acoustic folk-rock duo Mattson and Weaver.

A particular favorite of the duo is the Dylan classic “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

“When we sing this song, a lot of people sing along with it,” Weaver said. “It’s become an anthem of the 1960s, and we never get tired of singing it.”

Another Dylan favorite, she said, is “My Back Pages,” with the lines “But I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”

“He’s quite the poet,” Weaver said. “He expresses himself beautifully while getting a message across.”

Bob Dylan and his Band will be in concert Oct. 23 at the Salina Bicentennial Center. Dylan first performed at the Bicentennial Center nine years ago.

Marshall Perry, Salina Bicentennial Center manager, said Dylan’s return appearance was one of the fastest and easiest shows he’s ever booked.

“It took about three phone calls to set up the show,” he said. “The band’s coming out of Denver and on their way to Oklahoma, so it was good for their routing.”

As of Tuesday afternoon nearly 1,300 tickets had been sold of the 6,700 available for the concert. Ticket buyers have included young college students as well as silver-haired baby boomers, Perry said.

“I wonder if a lot of these kids heard their parents play (Dylan) on these things called albums instead of MP3 players,” he said.

60 albums, 50 years

With nearly 60 original and compilation albums spanning nearly 50 years, Dylan’s legacy as a songwriter and musician is inarguable.

Besides “Blowin’ in the Wind,” his classic songs include “The Times They Are a Changin,’” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “All Along the Watchtower,” “Lay Lady Lay,” “Forever Young” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

On Tuesday, Dylan released his latest album, “Christmas in the Heart,” a collection of holiday songs. Part of the proceeds of the album will be donated to Feeding America, an organization that feeds people in need during the holiday season.

In his long career, Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941), has been awarded multiple Grammy awards, an Academy Award for best song (“Things Have Changed” from the 2000 film “Wonder Boys”) and a 1997 Kennedy Center Honor.

In 2004, Dylan wrote a critically acclaimed and bestselling memoir, “Chronicles, Volume One.”

In 2008, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for what the prize committee called Dylan’s “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.”

Dylan was inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Songwriter you admire

Musicians who cite Dylan as an influence on their own careers includes Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits.

Bennington singer/songwriter Jeremy Neely was born around the time Dylan recorded his acclaimed “Blood on the Tracks” album in 1975. Neely said that while he knows some of Dylan’s more famous songs, “he was of a different generation.”

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t inspired by Dylan’s songs.

“He’s the kind of songwriter you admire,” said Neely, 34. “Guys like (Dylan) are the real deal. Nowadays you have a lot of pretty people with pretty voices who have ghost writers writing songs for them and then cramming it down our throats. Dylan is someone who has been methodical in his songwriting and has been able to recreate himself over and over for each generation.”

Dylan’s current concert tour is a continuation of his “Never Ending Tour,” which began in June 1988 and has spanned about 100 dates a year for the last 20 years.

Salina musician Steve Hanson called Dylan’s 2000 concert at the Salina Bicentennial Center one of the best concerts he ever attended.

“I went because he was an icon and a legend, but after seeing his concert, I’m a bigger fan,” said Hanson, a guitarist and owner of SM Hanson Music, 335 S. Clark. “He was a lot more personable (on stage) than stories I’d heard about him before. I think Salina had a lot to do with that. He warmed up to the crowd.”

Although Dylan wasn’t an influence on Hanson’s own music, Hanson said Dylan’s contribution to music has been immeasurable.

“He has a lot to say to the younger generation, too,” Hanson said.

Nasally, scratchy voice

While not a big fan of Dylan’s signature nasally, scratchy voice, singer/songwriter Randy Baldwin said Dylan has influenced many a songwriter like himself with the power of his songs and the poetry of his lyrics.

“Growing up, I would listen to other musicians sing his songs, not knowing who really wrote it,” Baldwin said. “Then I found out just how many songs this guy has written. He’s influenced many songwriters, that’s for sure. While I was never really big into him, I appreciated him as a writer.”

n Reporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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mmherbig says....
Singing from the heart, with all of his soul,to the people who love him,will be my inspiration friday.WE LOVE YOU MAN!!
10/23/2009

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Stevo says....
Does anyone know if tickets will drop in the days before or day of the show? Any giveaways in Salina?
10/19/2009

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dale says....
i saw bob in seattle a couple of weeks ago; don't you dare miss him in salina!!
10/17/2009

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Bass Player from CT. says....
Great Article. Very well written and informative. I really liked that you interviewed local musicains for their opinions of Dylan. For me, it gave the article more depth and realism.
10/16/2009

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