Sir Elton John admires Bob Dylan "so much".
Bob Dylan
The 74-year-old singer praised the 'Like a Rolling Stone' hitmaker for the way he "marches to his own tune" and admitted he looked at the direction the music legend - who turned 80 on Monday (24.05.21) - took his career as he got older for inspiration in his own later years.
He told The Sun newspaper: "Dylan’s another person I admire so much.'Modern Times' set the template for me to think about how I was going to make records in my sixties. I love Bob, I love him. He marches to his own tune.”
Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards also cited Dylan as one of his own inspirations as he taught him and bandmate Sir Mick Jagger the importance of writing their own songs.
He said: “Being a songwriter back then was a heavy, heavy load.
“Bob spurred us on. He was a prime example of ‘you don’t need anybody else’. If you write your own songs and can play them, you cut out an awful lot of middlemen.
"Tom Waits is another great friend and people like Bob, Tom and me were made to do this. And you don’t get worse if you do it with the right spirit.”
Despite Dylan's serious image, The Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde insisted he's a "comedian" and recalled how she attended an awards ceremony and found herself on the same table as the 'Just Like a Woman' hitmaker and Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
She said: “Bob looks at me and goes, ‘Chrissie, I want you to meet my fiancée, Elizabeth’. He was f***ing hilarious!
“He’s controversial, he’s told the truth, he’s done all this amazing stuff but people overlook that he’s a comedian.”
And the 'Brass in Pocket' singer can't help but feel starstruck when she's around him.
She said: "I’ve been so starstruck and pretty much tongue-tied. I’ll talk to him and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I’ve got to call Patti (Smith)’.”
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