Becoming the Hero of His Own Dream — The Transfiguration of Bobby Zimmerman

“Renaldo wants to be free from his unforgettable past — in other words, he wants to forget his unforgettable past and something earthshaking must have happened to him.” ~ Bob Dylan to Allen Ginsberg and Pierre Cottrell — 1977.

According to John Bauldie, editor of the Dylan fanzine, “The Telegraph,” Dylan demanded Ginsberg’s tape at the end of his first interview about “Renaldo and Clara,” claiming he had “revealed too much.”

The Death of Bobby Zimmerman

The motorcycle accident? Here’s the true git from one who was there and saw it.

Bobby Zimmerman was cruising down the highway when the muffler fell right off his bike. No hassle — it had happened before — the muffler was just wired on until Bobby could get around to welding it.

Bobby pulled a U-turn to go back and get the muffler. Damned if another biker wasn’t hauling ass on the wrong side of the road and broadsided Bobby just as he turned. Killed him instantly, and that was the end of Bobby Zimmerman.

It was September 3 1961 outside of Bass Lake, California. Three weeks later the name “Bob Dylan” would make its first appearance in The New York Times. The day after the Times article was published Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who…