Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s (1960s in music) when he was at first an informal chronicler, and later an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of his songs such as "Blowin in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin (The Times They Are a-Changin (song))" became anthems for the civil rights (American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)) and anti-war (Opposition to the Vietnam War) movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres (Music genre), exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song?from folk (folk music), blues and country (American country music) to gospel (gospel music), rock and roll and rockabilly, to English (Folk Music of England), Scottish (Music of Scotland) and Irish folk music (Folk music of Ireland), embracing even jazz and swing (swing (genre)).

Dylan performs with guitar, keyboard, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.

He has received numerous awards (List of Bob Dylan awards) over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008 a Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singers honor in his birthplace of Duluth (Duluth, Minnesota), Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation (Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards) for what they called his profound impact on popular music and American culture, "marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."