Bob Dylan opens up

Bob Dylan won the “person of the year” award from MusiCares, a charity that helps down and out musicians.  He gave a remarkable 30-minute acceptance speech that talked about his career, his influences, and his thoughts about music. 

People are fixating on whom he praises (Johnny Cash, Buck Owens) and whom he disses (“what does he have against Merle Haggard?  Or Tom T. Hall?”), but the speech is very illuminating.  He talks about how people say he can’t sing, obviously very hurt.  And he explains how some of his biggest songs grew out of the folk songs that he was immersing himself in.

And, yes, he talks about “the Lord.”

Here is the transcript:  Grammys 2015: Transcript of Bob Dylan’s MusiCares Person of Year speech – LA Times.

Here is a guide to some of the people he mentions and references he makes.