A Short & Unauthorized Tale of Bob Dylan's Life in Hibbing

The grandchild of Jewish-Russian immigrants, Robert Allen Zimmerman was the first child of Abraham and Beatrice (Beatty) Zimmerman. He was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, where his father worked for Standard Oil. Bob's only sibling, David, was born in February 1946.

After Abe contracted polio in the spring of 1946 and lost his job with Standard, the family moved to Hibbing to be near Beatty's parents, Ben and Florence (edelstein) Stone and soon after, the Zimmerman's bought a beige stucco house at 2425 7th Avenure East. Bob lived here until he graduated Hibbing High School. His fater, Abe, went into business with his brothers, Maurice and Paul, and the three bought Micka Electric, an appliance store. Later, the name was changed to Zimmerman Appliance and when Bob was older, he often helped with store deliveries. Beatty had a part time job at Feldman's Department Store that brought in extra money. Bob started first grade at Alice School which stood at the corner of 23rd St. and 3rd Avenue East.

It's written in a biography that Bob loved going to the movies and he went often since his mother's grandfather and uncles owned two theaters. It was because of a movie, "Rebel Without A Cause" that the young James Dean became one of Bob's early heroes. He soon bought a red coat like Dean's.

The Zimmermans were very involved with the Jewish community. They attended the Synagogue on 4th Avenue West when a rabbi was in residence. Bob studied Hebrew and had the traditional Jewish Bar Mitzvah ceremony when was about 13.

Bob began writing poetry around the age of 10 and he taught himself how to play the guitar, piano, and harmonica after falling under the spell of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and other early rock stars. He took guitar lessons for a short time from Ray Blake at Raymond Music. His first performance with a band was in the Hibbing High School auditorium. It was an audition for the College Capers, an annual talent show put on by students at Hibbing Junior College (at that time housed in the same building). Bob did his impression of his idol, Little Richard, and it's been reported that the audience laughed.

One of the first bands that Bob formed and played in was called "The Golden Chords". On February 14, 1958, they performed at the Winter Frolic Talent Contest in the Little Theatre of the Memorial Building. Even though the judges, said to be a few of the town's leading fathers, gave the first place trophy to another act, it's said that the "Golden Chords" were the audience's favorite.

Bob did not stand out as a student during his high school years. Many teachers reported that he did just enough to get by, although he did appear on the honor roll off and on during his high school years. One of his friends, Echo Helstrom, said that while Bob did not belong to the popular crowd, he also did not belong to the crowd from the wrong side of the tracks. Another classmate remembers him as,"serious, quiet and polite, kind of a thinker. I liked him."

Bob was just different and did pretty much as he pleased. In the High School Yearbook, "The Hematite", it's noted that one year Bob belonged to the Latin Club and another year he is listed as a part of the Social Studies Club. His listed aspiration was to "join Little Richard".

Bob graduated in 1959 with a class of 425 students. A recently submitted story recounts an interview with Bobby Vee and describes how Bob played in Vee's band, The Shadows, for a very short time that summer. They parted ways when the band was unable to procure a working piano. According to the Vee interview, "he was a funny, little wiry kind of guy, and he rocked pretty good." That fall, Bob took leave of Hibbing for the University of Minnesota, and the sights and sounds of the big city, something many local young people continue to do today.

Frequenting the Dinkytown section of Minneapolis, Bob began tracing contemporary rock and roll back to its roots, listening to the work of country, rock, folk, and especially folk pioneers like Hank Williams, Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie. The following year he dropped out of college and moved to New York City with the dream of becoming part of Greenwich Village's growing folk music scene, and to meet the ailing Woody Guthrie. Terminally ill with Huntington's Chorea, Guthrie met with the young performer and listed as Dylan performed Guthrie's own songs for him. Bob persevered and soon became a regular in Greenwich Village clubs and spent much time developing his unique singing style, along with his guitar and hamonica work.

In 1961, music critic Robert Shelton saw Bob perform at Gerde's Folk City and wrote a rave review about him in The New York Times. A month later Bob signed a recording deal with Columbia Records and, as the cliche goes, "the rest is history."

Unfortunately, Bob has not returned to Hibbing very often since he left, a situation that many in the community would like to see change. Regardless, Hibbing Dylan fans are proud to have Bob Dylan as part of their city's history. Dylan Days Celebration is held annually the week of May 24th, Bob's Birthday.

Let us know what you think at:  zimmys@rangebroadband.com