The Times They Are a Changin’ Word Cloud
Illustration by Graham English
The Times They Are a-Changin’ — Bob Dylan’s third studio album — was released on this day in 1964 — 59 years ago.
Produced by Tom Wilson, it was Dylan’s first collection to feature only original compositions. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely-arranged ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty and social change.
The title track is one of Dylan's most famous. Many felt that it captured the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.
Some critics and fans were not quite as taken with the album as a whole, relative to his previous work, for its lack of humor or musical diversity.
Still, The Times They Are a-Changin' peaked at #20 on the U.S. chart.
Here, Dylan performs “The Times Are a-Changin’” at the White House.