Is Bob Dylan The Greatest Songwriter of All Time?

And where does it leave legends such as John Lennon, Sam Cooke, Donny Hathaway, Gil Scott Heron, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder?

Bob Dylan via Wikimedia Commons and Alberto Cabello

When the Nobel committee decided to award Robert Zimmerman the eponymous prize for literature in 2016, there were more than a few raised eyebrows. There were those who felt that the award was completely undeserved and there were those who thought that this was a recognition that was long overdue.

Given the degree to which musicians have contributed to and shaped popular culture and wider society, with their songs being appropriated in anti-war protests, civil right marches, advertising campaigns and everything else in between, I think the time has truly come to ask the all important question:

Is Bob Dylan the greatest song writer of all time?

Is he any better than the likes of Sam Cooke and John Lennon?

I start by looking at the lyrics of “Blowing in the wind” which I have reproduced below for your perusal.

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is…