Initially modeling his writing style on the songs of Woody Guthrie , the blues of Robert Johnson , and what he termed the " architectural forms " of Hank Williams songs , Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s , infusing it " with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry " . Paul Simon suggested that Dylan 's early compositions virtually took over the folk genre : " Dylan 's early songs were very rich ... with strong melodies . ' Blowin ' in the Wind ' has a really strong melody . He so enlarged himself through the folk background that he incorporated it for a while . He defined the genre for a while . " When Dylan made his move from acoustic folk and blues music to a rock backing , the mix became more complex . For many critics , his greatest achievement was the cultural synthesis exemplified by his mid-1960s trilogy of albums — '' Bringing It All Back Home '' , '' Highway 61 Revisited '' and '' Blonde on Blonde '' . In Mike Marqusee 's words : Dylan 's lyrics began to receive detailed scrutiny from academics and poets as early as 1998 , when Stanford University sponsored the first international academic conference on Bob Dylan to be held in the United States . In 2004 , Richard F. Thomas , Classics professor at Harvard University , created a freshman seminar titled " Dylan " " to put the artist in context of not just popular culture of the last half-century , but the tradition of classical poets like Virgil and Homer . " Literary critic Christopher Ricks published '' Dylan 's Visions of Sin '' , a 500-page analysis of Dylan 's work , and has said : " I 'd not have written a book about Dylan , to stand alongside my books on Milton and Keats , Tennyson and T.S. Eliot , if I did n't think Dylan a genius of and with language . Former British poet laureate Andrew Motion suggested his lyrics should be studied in schools . The critical consensus that Dylan 's song writing was his outstanding creative achievement was articulated by '' Encyclopædia Britannica '' where his entry stated : " Hailed as the Shakespeare of his generation , Dylan ... set the standard for lyric writing . " Dylan 's voice also received critical attention . Robert Shelton described his early vocal style as " a rusty voice suggesting Guthrie 's old performances , etched in gravel like Dave Van Ronk 's " . David Bowie , in his tribute , " Song for Bob Dylan " , described Dylan 's singing as " a voice like sand and glue " . His voice continued to develop as he began to work with rock 'n' roll backing bands ; critic Michael Gray described the sound of Dylan 's vocal work on " Like a Rolling Stone " as " at once young and jeeringly cynical " . As Dylan 's voice aged during the 1980s , for some critics , it became more expressive . Christophe Lebold writes in the journal '' Oral Tradition '' , " Dylan 's more recent broken voice enables him to present a world view at the sonic surface of the songs — this voice carries us across the landscape of a broken , fallen world . The anatomy of a broken world in " Everything is Broken " ( on the album '' Oh Mercy '' ) is but an example of how the thematic concern with all things broken is grounded in a concrete sonic reality . " Dylan is considered a seminal influence on many musical genres . As Edna Gundersen stated in '' USA Today '' : " Dylan 's musical DNA has informed nearly every simple twist of pop since 1962 . " Punk musician Joe Strummer praised Dylan for having " laid down the template for lyric , tune , seriousness , spirituality , depth of rock music . " Other major musicians who acknowledged Dylan 's importance include Johnny Cash , Jerry Garcia , John Lennon , Paul McCartney , Pete Townshend , Neil Young , Bruce Springsteen , David Bowie , Bryan Ferry , Nick Cave , Patti Smith , Syd Barrett , Joni Mitchell , Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen . Dylan significantly contributed to the initial success of both the Byrds and the Band : the Byrds achieved chart success with their version of " Mr. Tambourine Man " and the subsequent album , while the Band were Dylan 's backing band on his 1966 tour , recorded '' The Basement Tapes '' with him in 1967 , and featured three previously unreleased Dylan songs on their debut album
on his 1966 tour
Bob Dylan World Tour 1966
Bob Dylan