Bob Dylan Stopped By Cops, Asked For ID In New Jersey Shore Town

(Associated Press) Rock legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by police in a New Jersey shore community when a resident called to report someone wandering around the neighborhood.

Dylan was in Long Branch, about a two-hour drive south of New York City, on July 23 as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play at a baseball stadium in nearby Lakewood.

A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said Friday.

"I don't think she was familiar with his entire body of work," Woolley said.

The incident began at 5 p.m. when a resident said a man was wandering around a low-income, predominantly minority neighborhood several blocks from the oceanfront looking at houses.

The police officer drove up to Dylan, who was wearing a blue jacket, and asked him his name. According to Woolley, the following exchange ensued:

"What is your name, sir?" the officer asked.

"Bob Dylan," Dylan said.

"OK, what are you doing here?" the officer asked.

"I'm on tour," the singer replied.

A second officer, also in his 20s, responded to assist the first officer. He, too, apparently was unfamiliar with Dylan, Woolley said.

The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer of such classics as "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Blowin' in the Wind" said that he didn't have any ID with him, that he was just walking around looking at houses to pass some time before that night's show.

The officers asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them back to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.

The officers thanked him for his cooperation.

"He couldn't have been any nicer to them," Woolley added.

How did it feel? A Dylan publicist did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Friday.

Comments

[John Robert]

07:48 PM on 08/19/2009

I feel the (2) police who stopped Bob Dylan have anti-folk music bias. They didn't know who Bob Dylan was . The should be forced to take sensitivit­y training, starting with watching, repeadly ,any film regarding Woodstock. Then ,possibly, a suble merlot on the White house law. That will teach those cultural yahoos whos au courant.

[shicksus]

12:00 AM on 08/18/2009

that was a good laugh.

[Rplatypus]

05:48 PM on 08/17/2009

NYC Public Advocate candidate Norman Siegel was just blogging about stop & frisks today... http://www­.huffingto­npost.com/­norman-sie­gel/in-200­8---nypd-s­ets-stop_b­_261280.ht­ml
when cops are going after Bob Dylan, things have gone way overboard.­....

[redsongia]

02:15 PM on 08/17/2009

LOL, the cops were probably younger than 60 years old, and only knew about Dylan from the movie "I'm not there" hence, expected him to look somewhat more like Kate Blanchette :)

[AlexNYC]

01:56 PM on 08/17/2009

How does it feel
to be on your own
a complete unknown
like a rolling stone

[nellyb stl]

01:47 PM on 08/17/2009

Take a ride in an 'upper class' neighborho­od and see how many 'upper class' citizens call the cops; therin lies the problem of who's policing whom. How Does It Feeeel....

[onalimb]

01:22 PM on 08/17/2009

Wish I could have happened upon Bob Dylan while walking through a Jersey shore town.

[carallen]

03:40 PM on 08/17/2009

Me too! My husband and I would have been thrilled!

[Jazzman323]

12:31 PM on 08/17/2009

Talk about a teachable moment! Bob Dylan is profiled in a black NJ neighborho­od, confronted by the police, and cooperated­, even when he is not recognized as the legendary artist that he is. They take him to his hotel, and everything ends happily.

I hope we have a beer summit this week at the White House. Invite Prof. Gates. Officer Crowley doesn't need to come. Have Dylan explain to Gates how they are doing their job, and if you understand that and cooperate with them, everything will be settled quickly. No racism.

What brand of beer does Bob want to order??

[hillpill]

02:03 PM on 08/17/2009

Not beer. He'll probably start out on burgundy and soon hit the harder stuff...

[CP18]

04:07 PM on 08/17/2009

Lucky they didn't smoke his eyelids and punch his cigarette. What kina cops are these?

[rodeman]

12:01 PM on 08/17/2009

Lay lady lay.......­......

Oh, sorry officer.

[neoprimordial]

10:52 AM on 08/17/2009

To me this is as if Jesus were wandering around some rundown neighborho­od and I just happened upon him. It just amazes me, but it's entirely possible for whole swaths of the general public to not know Bob Dylan, as appalling as that is. Man, if only I were one of those cops. I would have bent Dylan's ears with praise (and questions)­! We would be hanging out together, by law!
(I wish I had more time to repond to this!!)

[SaddieMcCall]

09:37 PM on 08/16/2009

walking in the rain in a low income neighborho­od - he probably was getting the feel for a song. I enjoy walking in the rain, and have done that a number of times - also in NJ because that is where I grew up, but I've never been asked to show ID to the police (but then again I was a lot younger then, and female, so maybe no one was suspcious or afraid of me?).

[newtom]

10:22 AM on 08/17/2009

In the RAIN? Where did you see that it was raining? I was there all weekend and it didn't rain at all.

[hillpill]

02:06 PM on 08/17/2009

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Nudge nudge wink wink puff puff pass...

[tuberider]

08:31 PM on 08/16/2009

As another Bob said: Forget your past you got no future.

[chevlikis]

05:23 PM on 08/16/2009

I am so free and so paranoid
saw
"a stranger" walking around
called the po-lease

everything­'s gonna be alright
upright and bowing
to the enforcemen­t overhead

called the po-lease

everything­'s gonna be alright

[bluestatelib]

06:40 PM on 08/16/2009

Massive fail. Sorry.

[Kenji]

12:17 PM on 08/16/2009

They forgot to taze him, bro'.

[huffingt]

11:58 AM on 08/16/2009

We don't want our country to be like Russia but we will follow Russian Or ly
We are informed citizens, thus follow Pa li n, to see Russia from her porch
We don't want socialism but social security, unemployme­nt insurance and medicare
We want our country back - back from intellectu­al people
We don't want govt. bureaucrat­s; we can elect govt. Mo rans
We don't need to show my birth certificat­e, but demand others to show theirs
We want States right for governance & succession but could use some stimulus money
We don't want govt control but stand by me at every crises & Katrina in my life
We are Americans so we exercise our rights over others
We are unique in our stu pi dity, so, America is the only place for me
We are not angry mob, unamerican­, nor militias, just boring left over teabagans
We ha te color people, but, presently on vacation in Puerto Rico to TAN my skin
We yell at meetings to say- hands off when my foot is in my mouth
We have values, good ones, but hard to practice in C. street when lights are off
We don't mind false sided F. news when delivered with a Tear
We are fearful of death panel as it prohibits us from pulling the plug on my rich relatives
We know amendments –to conceal drugs, alcohol, gu ns & soul mates
We understand constituti­on-"Our forefather­s & Sotomayor wrote something.­I know she did”

[Happyexpat]

02:20 PM on 08/16/2009

Great post. Fanned and faved. Sad isn't it?

[filo]

02:58 PM on 08/16/2009

Nice post!
May I add...

We don't mind our tax dollars being spent to kill people in foreign countries but object when our tax dollars are spent on health care saving lives at home.