Howard Sounes

Howard Sounes applied his newspaper background to detailed biographies of musicians and writers. Down the Highway grew from three years of research and interviews with 250 people connected to Bob Dylan. The biography appeared in 2001, followed by an updated edition for Dylan's eightieth birthday in 2021. It follows the recordings, tours, cultural influence, 1966 motorcycle accident, Woodstock period, and previously undisclosed second marriage. Grove Atlantic describes the book as both documentary and interpretive, combining new evidence with assessments of the music. Its emphasis on interviews, chronology, and independently checked detail reflects Sounes's earlier career in national journalism.