What makes Bob Dylan not only a great musician, but a defining voice of modern America? In this TigerSide Chat, acclaimed historian Sean Wilentz — who grew up just blocks from Dylan’s earliest performances in Greenwich Village — takes us on a journey through Dylan’s life, music and enduring influence. Drawing on unparalleled access to studio tapes, recording notes and rare archival materials, Wilentz explores Dylan’s meteoric rise in the early 1960s and his evolution into one of the most innovative songwriters and performers of the twentieth century. Whether you are a lifelong Dylan fan or simply curious about the crossroads of history, music and American identity, this conversation promises fresh insight into an artist — and an era — that changed everything. 

Speaker: 

Sean Wilentz is an American historian and the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. His primary research interests include nineteenth and twentieth century U.S. social and political history. He has written numerous award-winning books and articles, including, most notably, “The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln,” which was awarded the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of “Bob Dylan in America,” a landmark book reflecting his vast knowledge of the Village folk scene and New York artistic history.

Moderator:

Jonathan Taplin ’69 P98 g29 was tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band in the ’60s, producer of major films in the ’70s, an executive at Merrill Lynch in the ’80s, creator of the Internet’s first video-on-demand service in the ’90s, and a cultural critic and author writing about technology in the new millennium. Taplin is director emeritus of the U.S.C. Annenberg Innovation Lab and author of “The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock and Roll Life” and “Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google and Amazon Have Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy,” which was nominated by the Financial Times as one of the best business books of 2017. He is also the author of “The End of Reality: How Elon Musk and His Friends are Changing Your World” and a memoir, “The Magic Years.” Taplin has produced music and film for Bob Dylan and The Band, George Harrison, Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Gus Van Sant and many others. 

Register here for this virtual event.