--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it…" description: "\"Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release of his Greatest Hits album in 1967, and the mainstream success of the stoner anthem \"Rainy Day..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg" --- # Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release… ![“Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release of his Greatest Hits album in 1967, and the mainstream success of the stoner anthem "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" ("Everybody must get stoned!"), that really put him on the mainstream map.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg) > “Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release of his Greatest Hits album in 1967, and the mainstream success of the stoner anthem "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" ("Everybody must get stoned!"), that really put him on the mainstream map.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bob Dylan’s mainstream breakthrough came from a compilation album and a controversial hit song, not early fame. **In simple terms:** His fame grew from a hit album and song. Key Takeaway Leverage compilations and bold tracks for exposure. Themes music industry career breakthrough Mood reflective insightful Type historical musicology When to use this quote - album release - radio play - publicity stunt Key Concepts marketing cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How did the hit song shape his image? - What role do compilations play in artist exposure? A Different Perspective Success may be fleeting without artistic depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Albums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/albums/) [Anthem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthem/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Rainy day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainy-day/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Stoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoners/) ## Related quotes > [ "Masters of War" \[of Bob Dylan\] wasn't peacenik, anti-war stuff. With its minor key and uncompromising final lines ("And I hope that you die/And… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/masters-of-war-of-bob-dylan-wasn-t-peacenik-anti-war-stuff-with-its/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [For me, like, my goal has never been, quote, unquote, 'mainstream success.' I've just always wanted to work in entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franchesca-ramsey/for-me-like-my-goal-has-never-been-quote-unquote-mainstream-success-i/) [Franchesca Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franchesca-ramsey/) > [No U.K. rapper has been in my position; there are loads of big rappers like Tinie Tempah or Skepta, but no one has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzee-rascal/no-u-k-rapper-has-been-in-my-position-there-are-loads-of-big-rappers/) [Dizzee Rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzee-rascal/) > [They praise these tiny indie bands, but if a band finally gets mainstream success, the same people who praised them attack them for 'selling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-baker/they-praise-these-tiny-indie-bands-but-if-a-band-finally-gets/) Kyle Baker > [Mainstream success is important - that's probably anathema to an indie publication like Pitchfork, but it's what I believe having experienced it personally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-love/mainstream-success-is-important-that-s-probably-anathema-to-an-indie/) [Courtney Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-love/) > [What I'm realizing as I get older is that a movie's mainstream success is just as unpredictable as a movie's cult success. Plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patton-oswalt/what-i-m-realizing-as-i-get-older-is-that-a-movie-s-mainstream/) [Patton Oswalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patton-oswalt/) > [Me as a person...I'm really laid back, I'm really an on my own time type of person so its just kind of like if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhene-aiko/me-as-a-person-i-m-really-laid-back-i-m-really-an-on-my-own-time-type/) [Jhene Aiko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhene-aiko/) > [I think one reason my books have found mainstream success is that they're written from a skeptical point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-think-one-reason-my-books-have-found-mainstream-success-is-that/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I'm one of those artists that nobody ever sees coming. We started with Virgin in 1993. If you look at the climate of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaggy/i-m-one-of-those-artists-that-nobody-ever-sees-coming-we-started-with/) [Shaggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaggy/) > [I think the best songs are being written by the very under-stated, under-appreciated indie artists. The thing that separates them from mainstream success is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-tedder/i-think-the-best-songs-are-being-written-by-the-very-under-stated/) [Ryan Tedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-tedder/) > [I'm very creative - making music, making puppets, that's my thing - but mainstream success and the demands that brings? No, not really for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-townsend/i-m-very-creative-making-music-making-puppets-that-s-my-thing-but/) [Devin Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-townsend/) > [Our first record as the Veronicas was a big mainstream success. Maybe if we'd had the indie record first, then the breakout record, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-origliasso/our-first-record-as-the-veronicas-was-a-big-mainstream-success-maybe/) [Jessica Origliasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-origliasso/) > [You know you're a stoner when your friends make you a Bob Marley cake. You know you smoke way too much f--king weed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/you-know-you-re-a-stoner-when-your-friends-make-you-a-bob-marley-cake/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [“I guess what's so frustrating about the drug movement is that it's not much of a movement that's too many stoners involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-guess-what-s-so-frustrating-about-the-drug-movement-is-that-it-s/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Stoners live, Stoners Die, Fuck the world, Lets get high, Pot's a plant, It grows in the ground, If God didn't like it, It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-rose/stoners-live-stoners-die-fuck-the-world-lets-get-high-pot-s-a-plant/) Jessica-Rose ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Albums quotes > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [It's been really fun to see with each album when I change to see the fans of the show emulate my style and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/it-s-been-really-fun-to-see-with-each-album-when-i-change-to-see-the/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [I believe in full albums, and whatever comes out of those full albums will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-ricch/i-believe-in-full-albums-and-whatever-comes-out-of-those-full-albums/) [Roddy Ricch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-ricch/) > [Doing my own album provided me the opportunity to say whatever I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-marx/doing-my-own-album-provided-me-the-opportunity-to-say-whatever-i/) [Richard Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-marx/) > [The album is a definite departure. I haven't written original material before, except for one song on my first album, but Elvis and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-krall/the-album-is-a-definite-departure-i-haven-t-written-original-material/) [Diana Krall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-krall/) > [I never do any album to beat it. I do it to extend it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/i-never-do-any-album-to-beat-it-i-do-it-to-extend-it/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [I love Katy Perry! She gave me a song for my second album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/i-love-katy-perry-she-gave-me-a-song-for-my-second-album/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [If you're going to reach for it, reach all the way for it. Albums like 'Purple Rain' and 'Thriller' and those kind of records,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-sitek/if-you-re-going-to-reach-for-it-reach-all-the-way-for-it-albums-like/) [Dave Sitek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-sitek/) > [I'll put out an album, and people review it, and some people love it, and some people tear it apart. By nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/i-ll-put-out-an-album-and-people-review-it-and-some-people-love-it/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [I've been connected to the most culturally important albums of the past four years, the most influential artists of the past ten years. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-ve-been-connected-to-the-most-culturally-important-albums-of-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [George Winston piano albums have been my go-to since junior high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/george-winston-piano-albums-have-been-my-go-to-since-junior-high/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [Someone told me once that Lucinda Williams takes six years between albums, and that's what stuck to me; it's like, you really are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/someone-told-me-once-that-lucinda-williams-takes-six-years-between/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Now I'm having to live with sales of around 50,000 per album - but I'm pretty content with my place in the general scheme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-knopfler/now-i-m-having-to-live-with-sales-of-around-50-000-per-album-but-i-m/) [David Knopfler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-knopfler/) [Browse all 2,275 Albums quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/albums/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release of his Greatest Hits album in 1967, and the mainstream success of the stoner anthem \"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35\" (\"Everybody must get stoned!\"), that really put him on the mainstream map.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it-was-the-release-of-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Albums" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it-was-the-release-of-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/bob-dylan-168_albums_bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it_2157248.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bob Dylan wasn't a big star early on; it was the release of his Greatest Hits album in 1967, and the…” — Bob Dylan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bob Dylan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bob Dylan wasn't a big star...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it-was-the-release-of-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/bob-dylan-wasn-t-a-big-star-early-on-it-was-the-release-of-his/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```