He may stay forever young, but the calendar says Bob Dylan will turn 80 on Monday.
The pandemic knocked the revered singer-songwriter off the road for the first time in more than three decades, but he responded with his first album of original material in eight years, the exceptional "Rough and Rowdy Ways." And we know he's not done.
As we look forward to his return to the stage (hopefully this fall) and the opening of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., housing his personal archives (in May 2022), we offer eight Top 10 lists about Minnesota's greatest living music icon — from songs guaranteed to beat the pandemic blues to things we hope Dylan will do while he keeps pressing on.
10 Dylan sites in Minnesota
• Childhood home in Duluth (519 North 3rd Av. E.) He lived here until he was 6.
• House in Hibbing (2425 7th Av. E.) He lived here with his parents and younger brother David from 1947-59.
• Hibbing High School (800 E. 21st St.) With Bobby Zimmerman rocking on piano, the Golden Chords played a talent show in the school auditorium in 1957, and the principal pulled the plug on the raucous music. Zimmerman graduated in 1959.
• Hibbing Memorial Building (400 E. 23rd St.) In February 1958, the Golden Chords competed in the Winter Frolic Talent Contest in the arena's Little Theater.
• Sigma Alpha Mu (915 University Av. SE., Mpls.) This was the Jewish frat house where Zimmerman lived when he started at the University of Minnesota in fall 1959. It is now the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house.
• Gray's Drugs (327 14th Av. SE., Mpls.) In the winter of 1960, he moved into a second-floor apartment above the drugstore. Later turned into the Loring Pasta Bar, it's now a cafe simply called Gray's.
• Purple Onion Pizza Parlor (722 N. Snelling Av., St. Paul.) This was one of the two main spots where Dylan performed while a U student. His set on June 1, 1960, included versions of "House of the Rising Sun" and "Man of Constant Sorrow." The building is now home to Flying Pig Thrift.
• Sound 80 studio (2709 E. 25th St., Mpls.) In 1974, Dylan rerecorded five songs here for his "Blood on the Tracks" album with several Minnesota musicians. The building is now occupied by Orfield Laboratories.
• Orpheum Theatre (910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.) Dylan and his brother David owned the 1921 vaudeville house as an investment from 1979-88. Dylan performed multi-night engagements there in 1992 and 2014.
• "The Times They Are A-Changing" mural (5th St. and Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.) In 2015, it took five people two weeks to paint this 160-foot Eduardo Kobra mural featuring Dylan at three different ages.
10 upbeat Dylan songs* to beat the pandemic blues
• "Pressing On" (1980)
• "New Morning" (1970)
• "You Angel You" (1974)
• "If Not for You" (1970)
• "I Believe in You" (1979)
• "To Make You Feel My Love" (1997)
• "Mozambique" (1976)
• "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" (2020)
• "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" (1969)
• "Forever Young" (1974)
*There are relatively few in his 500-plus song catalog.
10 best Dylan concerts in Minnesota
• St. Paul Civic Center, Oct. 31, 1978. In his first home-state appearance in 13 years, he was passionate and playful. "It was a pleasure to play for you. It really was. I'll come back here more often. I've had enough of that New York." Then he shimmied off.
• Orpheum Theatre, Aug. 29-31 & Sept. 2-3, 1992. During an intimate five-night stand, the songs were recognizable and, for a change, the arrangements fairly tight, partly because the spirited frontman had two drummers in his expanded band.
• Target Center, Oct. 24, 1995. As he paid tribute to the recently deceased Jerry Garcia, Dylan played guitar assertively, jammed like the Grateful Dead and even danced with (and hugged) two female stage crashers.
• Midway Stadium, Aug. 29, 1997. Rebounding from a heart infection that had hospitalized him, he seemed especially friendly, smiling freely. After "Tangled Up in Blue," he quipped: "You can't sing and play like that unless you come from around here somewhere."
• Target Center, Oct. 23, 1998. After an introverted set by the great Joni Mitchell, Dylan was energetic and animated, a dancing fool with a sprightly jig here, a quick lock-step there and even a Chuck Berry-style duck walk.
• Target Center, July 14, 2000. As a rare opening act (for Phil Lesh), the engaged Dylan dug the groove of his band, miming like Charlie Chaplin, shimmying like Dwight Yoakam and posing like Keith Richards.
• Mayo Field, Rochester, Sept. 7, 2006. Playing under a full moon at a baseball park, he didn't acknowledge his recent No. 1 album "Modern Times" (or play any tunes from it) but he looked sharp and sounded in playoff form.
• Orpheum Theatre, Nov. 4-6, 2014. This was modern-times Dylan, with material mostly from 1997 and thereafter, including six selections from the searing "Tempest." He ended each night by crooning the Sinatra favorite "Stay With Me."
• Xcel Energy Center, Oct. 25, 2017. Dylan hadn't been so consistent, committed and convincing vocally during a Minnesota concert in years. Whether he snarled, boogied or serenaded, he did it with authority and fervor.
• Mankato Civic Center, Oct. 24, 2019. At 78, he performed with renewed conviction, offering tunes from the first six decades of his recording career and reimagining them with wisdom, eloquence and masterful phrasing.
10 venues that Dylan has played just once
• Hibbing High School, April 5, 1957.
• Minneapolis Auditorium, Nov. 5, 1965.
• St. Paul Civic Center, Oct. 31, 1978.
• Metrodome, Minneapolis, June 26, 1986.
• Harriet Island, St. Paul, during Riverfest, Aug. 3, 1989.
• Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Oct. 22, 1998.
• Canterbury Park, Shakopee, July 2, 1999.
• Float-Rite Park Amphitheater, Somerset, Wis., Aug. 3, 2003.
• Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, March 10, 2004.
• Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, Nov. 4, 2008.
10 famous opening acts
• Grateful Dead and Tom Petty, Metrodome, June 26, 1986.
• Santana, Minnesota State Fair, Aug. 27, 1993.
• Ani DiFranco, Midway Stadium, Aug. 29, 1997.
• Joni Mitchell, Target Center, Oct. 23, 1998.
• Paul Simon, Canterbury Park, July 2, 1999.
• Willie Nelson, Midway Stadium, July 12, 2005.
• Foo Fighters, Xcel Energy Center, Oct. 29, 2006.
• Mark Knopfler, Xcel Energy Center, Nov. 7, 2012.
• Wilco and My Morning Jacket, Midway Stadium, July 11, 2013.
• Mavis Staples, Xcel Energy Center, Oct. 25, 2017.
10 distinguished duet partners in the studio
• Johnny Cash on "Girl From the North Country," 1969.
• George Harrison on "All I Have to Do Is Dream," 1970.
• Doug Sahm on "Wallflower," 1973.
• Emmylou Harris on "Oh, Sister," 1976.
• Bette Midler on "Buckets of Rain," 1976.
• Eric Clapton on "Sign Language," 1976.
• Willie Nelson on "Heartland," 1993.
• Ralph Stanley on "The Lonesome River," 1998.
• Joan Osborne on "Chimes of Freedom," 1999.
• Mavis Staples on "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking," 2003.
10 great albums of Dylan covers
• "Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan," various (2003).
• "The Byrds Play Bob Dylan" (1979 compilation).
• "Odetta Sings Dylan" (1965).
• "Things Have Changed," Bettye LaVette (2018).
• "Dylan's Gospel," the Brothers & Sisters (1969).
• "I'm Not There" soundtrack, various (2007).
• "Dylanesque," Bryan Ferry (2007).
• "Bob Dylan: 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration," various (1993).
• "Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan" (2002 compilation)
• "Duluth Does Dylan Revisited," various (2006).
10 things we'd like to see Dylan do
• Write another installment of his 2004 memoir, as in "Chronicles: Vol. 2."
• Undertake a Neil Young-like run, playing a series of different venues as Young did here in 2019. How about First Avenue, the Fitzgerald, the Guthrie and the Palace — places Dylan has never played?
• Offer a storytellers-style tour, or at least concerts where he does more than mumble a few words.
• Speak at the opening of Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa next May. And not just pro forma remarks but a speech with the depth and thoughtfulness he showed at the 2015 MusiCares gala honoring him.
• Perform a concert in Hibbing.
• Grant a lengthy sit-down, televised interview to Oprah Winfrey or David Letterman, or podcast pals Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen.
• Give a solo acoustic performance (guitar or piano).
• Do a covers concert of songs that influenced him in his youth.
• Present an art exhibit (paintings and/or sculptures) in Minnesota.
• Go on tour with his son, Jakob Dylan, son-in-law Peter Himmelman and rapping grandson Pablo.
Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719
Twitter: @ChrisRStrib • 612-673-4658
