 In the late 1970s , Dylan became a born again Christian and released two albums of contemporary gospel music . Slow Train Coming ( 1979 ) featured the guitar accompaniment of Mark <unk> ( of Dire Straits ) and was produced by veteran R & B producer Jerry <unk> . <unk> said that Dylan had tried to <unk> him during the recording . He replied : " Bob , you 're dealing with a 62 @-@ year @-@ old Jewish <unk> . Let 's just make an album . " Dylan won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song " Gotta Serve Somebody " . His second Christian @-@ themed album , Saved ( 1980 ) , received mixed reviews , described by Michael Gray as " the nearest thing to a follow @-@ up album Dylan has ever made , Slow Train Coming II and inferior " When touring in late 1979 and early 1980 , Dylan would not play his older , secular works , and he delivered declarations of his faith from the stage , such as : 
