This is such a disheartening piece of news. I hope it is not true that Bob Dylan did that. 56 years after the fact seems like a long time ago to bring this up, but I do understand that people carry trauma with them their whole lives. (i.e. I can relate to this. And I dearly hope that people who do rotten things, whether to me or others, be found out for who they are: exposed, fearful, and nowhere to go except disgrace and social anathema. That is exactly what people like that deserve, perhaps even worse.)
This situation should be worked out between Dylan, the accuser, and the relevant courts. If this circumstance did happen, it would not change the fact that a 12-year-old was drugged and sexually exploited. It would also not change that Bob Dylan has had an invaluable and vibrant contribution to not just American music, but also to the world. As the voice of
multiple generations, he has impacted musicians and non-musicians alike, and music history would not nearly be the same without him. He carried the folk traditions of old, electrified them in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and has done way more with music than most actual
established musicians could ever dream of. The musical legacy of Michael Jackson, on the other hand, seems to ring hollow in comparison to that of Dylan (sidenote: I have exactly zero reservations about believing the molestation allegations against Jackson. I will never voluntarily listen to his songs again.)
As a personal anecdote, I was obsessed with Pink Floyd when I was in middle school. I wanted to branch out and not be exclusive to Pink Floyd anymore, after having collected most of their music on CD. My first CD purchase to capstone this decision was made in December 2005, when I bought
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits. I stay away from Greatest Hits and similar compilations these days, because the albums that artists intend are more important to me than a collection of random songs curated by a third party; but it still was a milestone purchase for me those 15+ years ago (It's been that long? Holy crap!).
I am not taking a side on this issue, and I will not weigh in on what is true and what is false about this. This is a dispute between two parties that needs to be solved as cleanly as possible. Whomever is in the wrong here should be held fully accountable for past and/or present moral lapses and inferiorities.
And I must remind everyone to suspend judgement; this is very important. One reason for this is because Clinton Heylin, who has written nine books about Bob Dylan (qualified expert, much?) is skeptical of the claims, and is citing verified timelines and whereabouts that would/could/does contradict the contexts and details relevant to the accusation. Heylin's denial on Dylan's behalf does not seem interested in victim-blaming either.
Author Clinton Heylin says the singer was in England and Los Angeles for much of the period in 1965 when the abuse allegedly took place in New York.
www.huffpost.com
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