Bob Dylan
In 1960, Dylan dropped out of college and moved to New York, where his idol, the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, was hospitalized with a rare hereditary disease of the nervous system. Dylan visited with Guthrie regularly in his hospital room. He also became a regular in the folk clubs and coffeehouses of Greenwich Village. He met many other musicians, and he began writing songs at an astonishing pace, including "Song to Woody," honoring Woody Guthrie. In the fall of 1961, after one of his performances received a rave review in The New York Times, Dylan signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. Released early in 1962, "Bob Dylan" contained only two original songs, but showcased Dylan's gravelly-voiced singing style in a number of traditional folk and blues songs.