Jakob Dylan upset with dads fans

[Janice Brooks]

Jakob Dylan Fires Barbs at His Father's Fans

Reuters
Oct 6 2000 5:49PM ET


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wallflowers rocker Jakob Dylan has broken an uncomfortable silence about his famous father, Bob Dylan, to lambaste fans for over-reacting when the music legend was laid low by a potentially fatal heart infection several years ago.

The younger Dylan rarely discusses his father at length in public. But as the Wallflowers prepare for the Oct. 10 release of their third album, the critically acclaimed ``Breach,'' he is no longer dodging the inevitable questions.

In a cover story for the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine, he talked about the time in May 1997 when Bob Dylan, who is now 59, was admitted to a New York hospital with histoplasmosis, a fungal disease that can kill if left untreated.

``What was so interesting was people had such a sense of panic. They suddenly realized a world without him,'' Dylan said. ''And my feeling was, 'Shame on you. You think that you get these kind of people your whole life? You should be proud of the fact that you're living during the time that this person is.'''

While proud of his father's accomplishments, Jakob Dylan, 30, indicated he wanted to carve out his own identity.

``There's countless biographies (about Bob Dylan),'' he said. ''In most of the books there might be one page that mentions the names of his children. That's it. I don't want to be a page in the book.''

Jakob's efforts seem to be going to plan. The rock band's 1996 album ``Bringing Down the Horse,'' sold about six million copies worldwide -- reportedly more than any of his father's albums ever sold -- and yielded two Grammys.

RTR/ENTERTAINMENT-PEOPLE


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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

[Jon Light]

If the boy was serious about carvng out that identity he'd change his name. How many records do you figure Jake Smith would have sold? I'd say you can't have it both ways except that apparently you can.
He can whine about it to every record exec that opens the door because his name is Dylan.

[Jude James Shiels]

He didn't just get his name from his father, but the name of his band too. I don't see why he had to say anything of that nature except maybe because his bands profile has decreased considerably. It does sound derogatory to his fathers fans.

I think it's great credit to Bob that his kids only get one page in all the biographies.

[Bobby Lee]

Jakob Zimmerman! Has a certain ring to it, don't you think?

Did the Wallflowers really outsell "Blonde on Blonde"? I find that hard to believe.