Stories, biographies, books and short interviews have been written about Dylan. Among these there are some really little known We publish an excerpt of this article that appeared on PurpleClover.com
Scary Songs to the kids - Dylan has been known to perform at his grandchildren's elementary schools. "Kindergarten kids in ritzy L.A. suburb Calabasas have been coming home to their parents and talking about the 'weird man' who keeps coming to their class to sing 'scary' songs on his guitar," reported the New York Post in 2007. "He's been singing to the class just for fun, but the kiddies have no idea they're being serenaded by a musical legend—to them, he's just 'Weird Guitar Guy.'"
He Napped in Neil Young’s Hearse
In the Neil Young biography Shakey, artist Sandy Mazzeo remembers taking Young’s ’54 Pontiac hearse for a drive. (This is in the mid-’70s.) Mazzeo hears a series of loud bangs. “I’m thinkin’, Oh my God, it’s a ghost.’ I look in the rearview mirror and it’s Bob.” Dylan had, for whatever reason, climbed into the back of the vehicle and gone to sleep. “Dylan was in his turban stage, and he’d slept in his turban and it had come all undone — he looked like the mummy.”
He Quit His First Recording Job on Day One
For his first gig in a recording studio, Dylan was to play harmonica on a 1961 Harry Belafonte album. According to biographer Anthony Scaduto, Bob was "ecstatic" about the opportunity. Yet he quit the job almost immediately, annoyed with Belafonte's practice of recording multiple takes.
He Had a Collection of Stolen Records
When he was just starting out, in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan was notorious for stealing prized records from his friends. "He stole a bunch of them," said one acquaintance, Paul Nelson. "He'd come along and take about 20 or 30 of them. But Bob had impeccable taste. He took the best."
He Owns a Coffee Shop Above a Boxing Gym
Dylan has a neighborhood coffee shop in Santa Monica, California, but the property is discreetly listed under the name of his longtime manager, Jeff Rosen. In-the-know Dylan fans don't expect to see Bob brewing up cappuccinos behind the counter, but he has been sighted in the member's-only boxing gym located in the café's basement. "He wasn't real fast or strong," said former lightweight champ Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, who has sparred with Dylan. "But he had his own way of moving and could get it done."
He Cites Bing Crosby as a Major Influence
Although he gained fame as a disciple of Woody Guthrie, Dylan was also influenced by crooner Bing Crosby. "A lot of people would like to sing like Bing Crosby, but very few could match his phrasing or depth of tone," Dylan once said. "He's influenced every real singer whether they know it or not. I used to hear Bing Crosby as a kid and not really pay attention to him. But he got inside me nevertheless."
He Likes Little League Baseball
Dylan's son Jakob, himself a well-known singer-songwriter, describes Bob as a warm and loving dad who never missed one of his Little League games. At one game, an overbearing parent in the stands began loudly berating the opposing coach. A fellow parent sitting up front turned around, gave the guy a icy glare, and said, "Hey, man, simmer down." This, of course, was Bob Dylan.