On this day (June 19), in 2020, Bob Dylan released Rough and Rowdy Ways, his first album of original material in nearly a decade. More importantly, it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It wasn’t just a hit album, though. It was a record-setting career milestone that few artists will be able to achieve.
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Rough and Rowdy Ways was proof that Dylan still had plenty of gas in the tank, with several critics calling it his best work to date. The album spawned several singles, including the lead single, “Murder Most Foul.” The nearly 17-minute song topped the Billboard Rock Digital Songs Sales chart, giving the Nobel Prize winner his first No. 1 on any of the publication’s charts as a recording artist. That was only the beginning, though.
When Rough and Rowdy Ways landed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, Dylan became the only artist to send albums to the top 40 of the chart in seven consecutive decades.
Bob Dylan’s Stunning Career Milestone
Bob Dylan has been writing and releasing some of the most memorable and influential songs in modern musical history since the early 1960s. Since then, he has cemented his place as one of the most important songwriters of the 20th century. He has inspired generations of songwriters, artists, and listeners, which is more important than any measure of chart success. However, it is much harder to measure.
He scored his first top 40 album with his 1963 sophomore LP, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The album contained timeless songs like “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and “Girl from the North Country.” It peaked at No. 22.
Dylan scored six more top 40 albums throughout the 1960s. Legendary releases, Nashville Skyline, Blonde on Blonde, and Highway 61 Revisited were among them. Then, he started the 1970s with Self Portrait, the first of ten consecutive top 40 albums. His 1974 full-length, Planet Waves, was his first No. 1 on the chart.
The 1980s saw more of the same. Only two albums, Down in the Groove and Knocked Out Loaded, missed the top 40. Then, his output started to slow with the dawn of the 1990s. The decade saw him only releasing four albums, two of which were top 40 hits.
The 2000s saw Dylan release his first holiday album, Christmas in the Heart, which peaked at No. 23. The album came after he released three consecutive top-five albums, two of which went to the top of the chart. The next decade saw Dylan release three consecutive top 10 albums. Then, Triplicate broke the string, peaking at No. 37.
Finally, Dylan released Rough and Rowdy Ways in 2020. It peaked at No. 2. He followed that with Shadow Kingdom. The album peaked at No. 71, making it the first album to miss the top 40 of the Billboard 200 since World Gone Wrong peaked at No. 70 in 1993.
Featured Image by Gai Terrell/Redferns
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