Highway 61 Revisited

Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in August 1965 by Columbia Records. For the first time, Dylan used rock music as his backing on every album track, except for the closing 11-minute acoustic song, "Desolation Row". Critics have written that Dylan's ability to combine driving, blues-based rock music with the subtlety of poetry made Highway 61 Revisited one of the most influential albums ever recorded; one claimed that "in an important sense the 1960s started here."

Leading off with the single "Like a Rolling Stone", the album features many songs that have been acclaimed as classics and that Dylan has continued to perform live over his long career, including "Highway 61 Revisited", "Ballad of a Thin Man", and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues". Dylan named the album after one of the great North American arteries, which connected his birthplace in Minnesota to southern cities famed for their musical heritage, including St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans.

Highway 61 Revisited peaked at No. 3 in the United States charts and No. 4 in the United Kingdom. The album has received multiple accolades and was ranked No. 4 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. "Like a Rolling Stone" was a Top 10 hit in several countries around the world. It has been described by critics as Dylan's magnum opus and was No. 1 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Two further songs, "Desolation Row", and "Highway 61 Revisited", were listed at No. 187 and No. 373 respectively.