by Paul Schingle

Created on: December 05, 2009

Having debated this among friends, it would be easy to write for either side. I understand anyone who wrote for the no side of this argument. With one word added to the title, I would have. If the title were worded, "Is Bob Dylan exclusively a folk singer?" the answer would be an obvious no. Simply worded the way it is, I'd have to say the answer is, "Of course." I suppose the term "folk singer" can mean a lot of different things. And, depending on interpretation, one could answer this question about Dylan (and almost any other singer/songwriter) for either side of the debate.

If a person composes and sings his own material, could he ever be considered a true "folk singer?" That could present a valid argument on the no side of this debate. In the strictest sense, a "folk song" is a song handed down from generation to generation in the oral tradition. Most true folk songs were "written" by unknown authors-scores, even hundreds of years ago. But, even if this was your argument against Dylan's being a folk singer-it doesn't hold up. Look at some of Dylan's early work. He did hundred or more year old songs like "Peggy-O" and "House of the Rising Sun." In his book he talked about performing at the clubs in Greenwich Village and doing songs such as "Matty Groves." Every one of these songs is a "traditional" or a song in the "public domain." This is the very definition of folk music. Dylan is, unfortunately to some, guilty of singing folk songs.

Now, taking the question the way I re-worded it, it's a whole different ball of wax. Probably since about 1964-65, or so, Bob Dylan has almost exclusively written his own material. The stuff he writes varies from the folky to some pretty hard rocking stuff to country to gospel to blues, ad infinitum. Bob Dylan may be one of the greatest poets and songwriters of his, or even the next, generation. He can do it all. He writes, plays guitar and keyboards (though I understand, lately, he has more or less quit playing guitar-at least in concert) and sings-albeit, not very well. More than anything, Bob Dylan is an eclectic singer-a renaissance man, if you will.

If the original question had been worded slightly differently, I could understand writing for the other side. But, looking at the question worded exactly the way it is, "Is Bob Dylan a folk singer?" there is only one way to answer. Since, at least historically, Bob Dylan has sung folk songs, by definition, Bob Dylan is a folk singer.

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