5 Mind-Blowing Bob Dylan Facts Most Fans Don’t Know

Bob Dylan is an enigmatic music icon whose unique voice and lyrical depth have mesmerized listeners for decades. His tremendous record and long, successful career have made a significant mark on music. Still, despite being known as a household name, Dylan keeps an air of mystery to himself. Below we’ll dive into these 5 mind-blowing facts that perhaps you don’t know from the freewheelin’ troubadour.

Johnny Cash gave his guitar to Bob as a token of respect.

When Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash met in the ’60s, they became fast friends. Johnny Cash showed his affection for Bob Dylan by giving him a Martin guitar at the Newport Folk Festival. Throughout their career, the two exchange high regard with each other’s work.

He paid for Brian Jones’ casket.

Just before his untimely death, Dylan was good friends with Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones. For a while, the pair even made it a habit to talk on the phone every day. Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Jones confirm that Bob did indeed pay for the silver and bronze metal casket in which Jones was interred after Brian’s tragic death at the age of 27.

He got pulled over because police thought he was an “eccentric old man.”

Bob Dylan, drenched to the skin on a wet day in 2009 in Long Branch, New Jersey, stumbled into a yard with a “For Sale” sign. The residents of the house alerted the police when they saw the “eccentric-looking old man” outside. A little time later, a young police officer by the name of Kristie Buble showed up. But that wasn’t the end of it, because she didn’t identify the famous artist and went to considerable efforts to verify his identity before letting him go. She went as far as having him get into the police cruiser and bring him to his hotel so she could check his identification documents again.

He swapped an original Andy Warhol for a couch.

When Bob Dylan went to the Silver Factory to meet with Andy Warhol in 1965, he ended up being the subject of one of Warhol’s screen tests. In exchange, Dylan was handed a Warhol silver Elvis silkscreen. Dylan came across as unresponsive throughout their encounter, and the atmosphere between the two artists was uncomfortable. Some claim that once Dylan left the Factory, he showed little regard for the priceless Elvis artwork, and in an interview from 1985, he acknowledged making an ill-advised trade: he gave Andy Warhol’s ‘Elvis Presley painting in return for a sofa. He regretted that decision afterward.

He shut down people for a week when he found out that Elvis Presley died

Dylan was profoundly affected by Elvis Presley’s passing. He had received the news while tending to his Minnesota farm, and he didn’t say anything for a whole week. Dylan has stated that he would not have been as successful as he is without the influence of Elvis Presley and Hank Williams.