Bob Dylan Said John Lennon Was ‘Completely Out of Control’ and Didn’t Want That for Himself
Bob Dylan and John Lennon were friends, but they were complete opposites in their approach to the media. Lennon was very revealing in interviews, particularly in the immediate aftermath of The Beatles’ breakup. He spoke candidly about his relationship with Yoko Ono and his distaste for other artists. Dylan, on the other hand, remained enigmatic. While he has given hundreds of interviews in his career, he is much less willing to open his private life to media scrutiny than Lennon was. In some ways, though, this has increased speculation about him.
Bob Dylan admired John Lennon
Dylan first met The Beatles in 1964 and quickly gravitated toward Lennon. The Beatles’ road manager Neil Aspinall believed that Dylan recognized Lennon as the leader of the band. Lennon also took a great deal of musical inspiration from Dylan and enjoyed his friendship.
“And John was a very good friend of Dylan’s,” director D.A. Pennebaker said, per the book The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait by Daniel Mark Epstein. “John just loved him. And vice versa. They adored each other. And the rest of the Beatles? Paul would come in and play something and Dylan would get up and walk out of the room.”
Bob Dylan said he didn’t want to approach fame like John Lennon
Though Dylan admired Lennon, he didn’t agree with everything he did. He spoke of an interview Lennon gave with Rolling Stone and noted that he didn’t want to behave that way.
“Did you see the John Lennon interview in Rolling Stone? Whew!” he said, per The New York Times. “Lennon was completely out of control. He’s leaving no place for himself. Me, I gotta keep a place for me. I like Lennon though. I dig him a lot; he’s given me a lot of insight. Don’t ask me how. It’s just good that he’s around.”
Dylan was likely referring to Lennon’s lengthy and revealing interview with Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner. It’s difficult to say for sure, though, as Lennon gave many bare-all interviews with the magazine. Dylan was far more private and had been since long before fame.
“He was paranoid,” a former classmate said, adding, “he never wanted anyone to know anything about him.”
Has the myth led to more speculation about the musician?
Dylan has successfully kept his private life separate from his public one. While he is happy to share trivial information like the type of TV shows he watches, he never discusses his family, romantic relationships, or professional feuds. This level of secrecy works for him, but it has also led to zealous investigation into his life.
Dylan fans have pored over lyrics, gone through his trash, and even saved old cigarette butts from the singer. His Nobel Prize-winning lyrics and his air of mystery have made him a mythological figure to his most ardent fans. Unlike many other public figures, he feels unknowable. If Dylan openly discussed his life, he would be a very different type of star.
