"Highway 61 Revisited" is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Continuing the musical direction of his previous album, Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Dylan utilized rock musicians as his backing band on all tracks, marking a significant departure from his earlier acoustic folk sound, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row." Critics have praised the album for its innovative combination of driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry, capturing the political and cultural climate of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray suggested that the 1960s "started" with this album.
Preceded by the hit single "Like a Rolling Stone," the album includes songs that Dylan has continued to perform throughout his career, such as "Ballad of a Thin Man" and the title track. The album's name references Highway 61, which runs from Dylan's birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota, to southern cities known for their musical heritage, including St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Delta blues region.
Highway 61 Revisited peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart and No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. It was well-received upon release and has since been recognized as one of Dylan's greatest works and one of the greatest albums of all time. It ranked No. 4 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003 and was repositioned to No. 18 in the 2020 revision. The album was voted No. 26 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000) and featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2010). "Like a Rolling Stone" was a top-10 hit in several countries and was listed at No. 4 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2021. Additionally, "Desolation Row" and "Highway 61 Revisited" were ranked No. 187 and No. 373, respectively, on the 2010 list.
