Today marks the 70th birthday of Bob Dylan, a musician for whom the term living legend could have been invented.
Dylan, who was awarded Legion d'Honneur in L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres was influenced from an early age by French poetry, and acknowledged this throughout his career
He of course mentioned Francoise Hardy in his poem "Some other kinds of songs" on the sleevenotes of his "Another Side of Bob Dylan" album.
He has been since the beginning a hugely popular act in France, his key 1966 tour stopping off at L'Olympia in Paris, more recent gigs seeing him filling stadiums and arenas in France.
Personally I saw him play the Zénith in Paris in '93, and although not the best show I've seen by Dylan, it was certainly a memorable one.
Following his receint gig in China, Bob Dylan wrote on his website: "Everybody knows by now that there's a gazillion books on me either out or coming out in the near future.
"So I'm encouraging anybody who's ever met me, heard me or even seen me, to get in on the action and scribble their own book. You never know, somebody might have a great book in them."
I suspect a book about France's influence on Dylan - and his influence on France - woule be one that deserves to be written at some point.
Strangely there are not a great number of French versions of Dylan songs, but as this clip from 1984 in which he was interviewed for French TV shows - along with live footage - he is a hugely respected and influential artist in France as much as anywhere else.
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