In May 1963, Dylan was asked to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, the dominant entertainment program on television at the time. It was a major career opportunity. He planned to perform his new song, “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues.” CBS’s lawyers told him that the song was too controversial, potentially libelous. They suggested he play “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Instead, Dylan decided not to perform at all.

I salute his faith in his music, his rejection of the limitations that CBS wanted to impose on his work. Dylan may have an unusual singing voice — as, by the way, did Billie Holliday — and his lyrics may sometimes be impossible to decipher, but he had the courage of his artistic vision. And there is something special there. There is something deep.