In 1965, Bob Dylan wanted to give up singing. Instead, he wrote the best anthem of his career

Bob Dylan said he was close to giving up singing in 1965, feeling drained by the pressure to keep producing work and by the expectations attached to his reputation as a voice of a generation. The article says “Like a Rolling Stone” changed that, giving him a song he himself valued and helping him move forward during a period of uncertainty about his musical direction.

Dylan had begun adding electric instrumentation, including on “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, which unsettled some folk listeners as he moved towards rock. He described “Like a Rolling Stone” as a turning point, and the article presents its lyrics about a person losing status and security as a wider statement of independence and change.