Short Cuts: Rare photos show very young Bob Dylan in northern Minnesota

Readers have submitted two rarely seen photos, including one of young Bobby Zimmerman with three generations of his mother's family.



Bobby Zimmerman, right, who would become Bob Dylan, stands with two Hibbing children in a photograph taken about 1945.
Contributed / Barry Tusin

By Jay Gabler

DULUTH — With Bob Dylan turning 82 this week, his northern Minnesota childhood was a very long time ago. Even after all these years, though, there are still people from the area with new stories to tell — and even new photos to share.

I've recently heard from two readers who sent rare photos of the boy who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth on May 24, 1941. The child was called Bobby.

One photo comes from Barry Tusin, who now lives in the Chicago area but grew up in Superior. Tusin writes that his aunt, Ruth Rovell, lived in Hibbing and was friends with Beatrice "Beatty" Zimmerman, Bobby's mother. Beatty occasionally dropped Bobby off to play with Barry's cousin, Jackie, and on this day, a neighbor friend.

With the help of Dylan collector Bill Pagel, who owns the house where the Zimmermans moved when Bobby was 6 (as well as the Zimmermans' former Duluth home), Tusin traced this photo location to a house on Second Avenue West. That was near where the Rovell family lived, and the house pictured may have belonged to relatives of the neighbor friend.

According to Tusin, his cousin, Jackie, estimates this photo was taken circa 1945, the year Bobby turned 4. Beatty had close ties to family and friends in her hometown of Hibbing, so it isn't surprising that her young son would be photographed in Hibbing, even when the Zimmermans were living in Duluth.

Speaking of Beatty's family, a second remarkable photograph submitted by a reader depicts Bobby with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all together. This photo comes from Lawrence Goldberg, of Arizona. Pagel, noted as a knowledgeable source on Dylan's youth, confirmed that he recognizes all the people Goldberg identified in the photo, and said that to his knowledge, it has never been published.



Bobby Zimmerman, who would become Bob Dylan, sits on the lap of his great-grandmother, Lybba Edelstein, in this photo taken in 1942. Bobby's mother, Beatty Stone Zimmerman, stands at left, next to his grandmother, Florence Edelstein Stone.
Contributed / Lawrence Goldberg

Goldberg, he explains, is the son of Sylvia Edelstein, the sister of Beatty's mother, Florence. That makes Lawrence a first cousin, once removed, of Bob Dylan. Since Sylvia was "the baby" of the Edelstein family, she was only three years older than her niece, Beatty. The two were "extremely close," according to Goldberg.

In this photo, Beatty is standing at left. Her mother, Florence, Lawrence Goldberg's aunt, is standing at right. Beatty's grandmother, Lybba, is seated holding her great-grandson, Bobby. Lybba died in 1942, when Bobby was just 1 year old. Based on the young boy's age, this photo dates from the last year of her life and presumably would have been taken in Hibbing or somewhere nearby.

The Lybba Theater, built in 1947 and operational until 1982, was owned by Dylan's relatives on the Edelstein side and named after Bobby's great-grandmother. Latterly the Sunrise Deli, the theater was located at 2135 First Ave. in Hibbing and was frequented by Bobby and his friends.

"Life in Hibbing, Duluth and Superior was difficult sometimes," wrote Goldberg. "It sometimes was a hardscrabble existence, but they persevered and survived. The Iron Range was not the easiest place to live, but they all did OK."

[www.duluthnewstribune.com]

European Tour Starts Today in Porto, Portugal !!!!! Looking forward to seeing what Bob has on the menu.... Hoping to catch a show further down the road.M

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mikey C
European Tour Starts Today in Porto, Portugal !!!!! Looking forward to seeing what Bob has on the menu.... Hoping to catch a show further down the road.M

well, it's still the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. So we will get the usual stuff. But I'm already in Porto

Have a great time Slewan and if you can I would love a review of the concert.Wish I was there always great seeing Bob in Concert.M

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slewan

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mikey C
European Tour Starts Today in Porto, Portugal !!!!! Looking forward to seeing what Bob has on the menu.... Hoping to catch a show further down the road.M

well, it's still the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. So we will get the usual stuff. But I'm already in Porto

Looking forward to seeing your firsthand account here, how the performance will have evolved from the sensational Japanese shows.

I saw The Boss in Edinburgh on Tuesday, just three days ago. As much as he has his share of my appreciation, even after the infamous ticket pricing scandal, overall I rate Bob higher than Bruce as an artist, warts and all.

Tonight I am going to see Roger Waters in Glasgow, a tricky artist to talk about his views on this forum for obvious reasons. I’ll experience and evaluate them all in person anyway.

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mikey C
Have a great time Slewan and if you can I would love a review of the concert.Wish I was there always great seeing Bob in Concert.M

good show. Same setlist as in Europe last year – but most of the songs sounded different. Dylan was in good shape. Only dissappointment was that his new drummer (Jerry Pentecost) is not a good and interessting as Charley Drayton was.

Thanks for that Slewan....I am going to try to see Bob in Italy...50/50 if I can find the time..I am well Impressed Bob is touring at 82 what a trooper....Have a great Summer Everyone.M

Revisiting Dylan lately, he's just blowing my mind, he's always been creative and recreating his own songs time and again.
Just looking at his activities since 2005, i mean about 30 albums, puts Mick and Keith to shame I'm reluctant to admit, The Stones sold out a long time ago creatively.
Dylan rehearsing I Want You.
[youtu.be]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-06-03 16:55 by keefriffhards.

As I posted above, I saw Roger Waters’ This Is Not A Drill show in Glasgow on Friday night. He played new songs, piano ballads called The Bar, Part 1 and 2. Before playing the latter in the encore, he started to talk about Dylan and continued to do so for some length — he even mentioned Dylan’s real name, Robert Zimmerman. He greatly admired Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands, and openly acknowledged that he stole part of the lyrics for The Bar, Part 2, which indeed started with a line, “You are my sad eyed lady.”

tonight in Porto Dylan play Not Fade Away! Great performance and a very good show. New version of My Own Version of You

tonight at the second show in Marid Bob replaced 'Not Fade Away' by 'Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee'. New version of that song featuring violin and accoustic guitar. It was also the first time on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour that Dylan added one of his own pre-RRW songs to the RRW setlist

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mikey C
Thanks for that Slewan....I am going to try to see Bob in Italy...50/50 if I can find the time..I am well Impressed Bob is touring at 82 what a trooper....Have a great Summer Everyone.M

Trouper, not trooper. Big difference.

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slewan
tonight at the second show in Marid Bob replaced 'Not Fade Away' by 'Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dee'. New version of that song featuring violin and accoustic guitar. It was also the first time on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour that Dylan added one of his own pre-RRW songs to the RRW setlist

Here's a recording: [twitter.com]

Thanks Cristiano - excellent version.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
Thanks Cristiano - excellent version.

My pleasure!

Here's the full recording: [youtu.be]

meanwhile Dylan is baxk to Old Black Magic (both shows t Sevilla)…

Bob played Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" tonight in Alicante, Spain.

Thanks Cristiano - great tune, great version!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Cristiano Radtke
Bob played Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" tonight in Alicante, Spain.

at the first Euro 2023 show without me…

The Time Bob Dylan & The Rolling Stones Teamed Up For ‘Like A Rolling Stone’: A Brief History

[www.jambase.com]

[www.youtube.com]

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Cristiano Radtke

Almost on par with the 1995 versions I have listened to.

Good job Bob!

Excellent show in Milan, yesterday in front of 2.200 people at Arcimboldi theatre: great versions, no war horses and very little communication. Still, a night to remeber.
Bye,

I listened to "Shadow Kingdom" entirely while walking through the woods.
Like Marcel Proust, Dylan deals with time, space, in a specific way by giving them significant parts on that album. It is a memory because the songs have been created long time ago and when I listen to them I invontarily remember the original version. Like Proust did, Dylan creates a sort of stream of consciousness by making each song merging in each other without silence spaces to define clearly the beginings and the ends. Time and beat are not kept with a drum but with the strumming of the guitars. Dylan 's voice is upfront, clear and entilligible. In the background the sound of the omnipresent accordion invontarily brings me back to France.
It was a good listening because it inspired me although the songs were not new.
Rockandroll,
Mops

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slewan

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Cristiano Radtke
Bob played Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" tonight in Alicante, Spain.

at the first Euro 2023 show without me…

I was there, he still touches your soul like no one else, glimpses and flashes of sounds from another magical realm

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Cristiano Radtke

Excellent version. I've always liked the Dead's original, but Dylan and his band add a new level of passion, power, and depth for this day and age.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Bob in Rome Tonight last show of the Tour.. Let's see if he's got another ace up his sleeve......M

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mikey C
Bob in Rome Tonight last show of the Tour.. Let's see if he's got another ace up his sleeve......M

he had…

He played three cover songs in a row (instead of just one as usual:
Old Black Magic, Only A River and Truckin'! All sung well. So it ended up to be the longest show in many years – nearly two hours.

But beside that it was a show without real highlights. Yes, I know there are some raving reviews on expectingrain but in fact everything I've seen and heard in Portugal and Spain (8 shows) was better than yesterdays performance in Rome. Maybe I just got that feeling because the sound wasn't good – although the show was in a venue designed for classical music and I had a good gallery seat. On lot of songs Dylan's voice was rather low an buried in the mix.

There were a few reports of poor sound at Rome on Expecting Rain, but especially compared to this site, which accommodates plenty of sharply conflicting opinions, ER is a bit hagiographic over there, and barely a whisper of criticism is permitted on the boards without being drowned out by cheerleaders, for whom anything Dylan does is genius. It still sounds like a fabulous tour, though I wish he'd drop those B-list old songs for something new and better. Still, I was so glad to see the R&RW show at the Palladium last October.