American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has won the award for ‘having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’.

For more than 60 years Dylan has taken on a mythical status, covering an array of subjects including death, love, war, morality and more wrapped in his distinctive voice and memorable melodies.

Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941, Dylan began performing in rock’n’roll bands in high school. He adopted the name Dylan, after the poet Dylan Thomas, began to perform folk music after Woody Guthrie inspired him profoundly.

Moving to New York in the early 60s, he graced the clubs and cafes of Greenwich Village. His first album, Bob Dylan, was released in 1962, followed by such classics as Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks.