Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman in Minnesota in 1941. As a teen he performed the then new sound of rock 'n' roll with his friends. While a student at the University of Minnesota, he discovered folk music and began performing solo in coffeehouses, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. At 20, he moved to New York and quickly became the top artist in the folk music boom of the 1960s. His early songs, like "Blowin' in the Wind," spoke of contemporary issues of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. By 1964, his songs became introspective and surrealistic, including stream-of-consciousness lyrics influenced by French Symbolist poetry and the Beat Poets. Shortly after, he made a dramatic shift back to rock 'n' roll with his hit song "Like a Rolling Stone" and ever since he has performed both electric and acoustic music. Dylan became the first popular musician whose lyrics were discussed as poetry, and he is often cited as an influence by songwriters of many styles. A very private and enigmatic person, he has always stood outside trends in the music industry. His most acclaimed albums are The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Blood on the Tracks (1975), and Time Out of Mind (1997). Besides his song lyrics, his only published writing is Tarantula (1965), an absurdist novel in prose and poetry.