“His destiny”: the moment Pete Townshend knew Bob Dylan “would one day change the world”
Few songwriters have changed the world with their creations quite like Bob Dylan. His words have reverberated throughout generations of songwriters, while his melodies still echo through practice rooms and music shops. Countless people have paid homage to his influence on folk through tributes and covers, quotes and odes, but his impact extends beyond the realm of music.
Penning protest songs filled to the brim with poetry, Dylan’s impact extends beyond the artistic and into the personal and political. His works have become anthems for movements and for the masses, with tracks like ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’ and ‘Hurricane’ tackling the world head-on with music.
Dylan has inspired people to pick up a guitar and to place a harmonica to their lips. He set the standard for songwriting, up there with the likes of Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell as one of the greats—he changed music, but he also changed the world. This trajectory was evident to Pete Townshend, at least when Dylan was barely out of his teens.
The Who guitarist once suggested that he could tell that Dylan was going to have a mammoth impact from the moment he first heard him. While speaking with Montreal Gazette, Townshend remembered being just 16 years old, hearing this “wonderful man”, and immediately knowing he would “one day change the world, change the function of the song, and make a billion dollars.”
Townshend had his own impact on music, fusing rock and synth with the Who, but he could never contend with Dylan. Not many could. Townshend and Dylan spawned from the same generation – when The Who founder was 16, the future folk legend was just 20, but he was already well on the way to changing the world with his compositions.
It was during this time that he would record his self-titled debut, paying homage to his protest music predecessor, Woody Guthrie. Before long, he would venture into original songwriting and amass a reputation and an impact just as wide-spanning and well-renowned as Guthrie’s.
By the time he reached his mid-twenties, he had penned future all-time greats like ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ and ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’, songs that would resonate with audiences for decades to come. Just as Townshend foresaw, Dylan was destined to change the world.
“This is Bob’s due, his time, his legacy, and his destiny,” he said of the revived interest in folk legend on the eve of the new century. Interest in the songwriter seems unwavering, and there is a resonance with every generation of music makers and music fans, proof of his world-changing capabilities.
Even now, over six decades since Townshend realised Dylan’s potential, his impact can be felt in each ode to his catalogue and each reference to his work. It’s even being charted in film, with Timothée Chalamet set to take on the challenge of portraying Dylan on-screen in an upcoming biopic.
Dylan’s influence on music is undeniable – he certainly did change the function of the song, setting an impossibly high bar for all those who would follow – but he also changed the world. From penning personal and poetic tracks that would find their way into the hearts of millions to writing words of protest to resonate with the masses, Dylan was destined to change the world from the moment he put pen to paper.
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