Sara Dylan

Sara Dylan (born Wilmington, Delaware, October 28, 1939), born as Shirley Marlin Noznisky and later known as Sara Lownds, was the first wife of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. She was married to Bob Dylan from November 1965 until July 1977.

Biography

Sara Dylan's early career was as a fashion model and Playboy bunny. She changed her first name from Shirley to Sara at the request of her first husband, magazine photographer Hans Lownds. Hans almost ordered her to do this, stating, "I can't be married to a woman named Shirley." According to Peter Lownds, her then-stepson, Sara met Dylan in Greenwich Village in 1962. "Her meeting with Bob was the reason (Sara left Hans) he was famous, and she was very beautiful," says Lownds.

Sara Lownds and Bob Dylan were wed in a secret ceremony on November 22 1965, during a break in his tour. The marriage took place under an oak tree on a judge's lawn on Long Island. The only other participants were Albert Grossman and a maid of honor for Sara; no one else attended the wedding.

During her marriage to Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan bore three sons and a daughter: Jesse, Anna, Samuel, and Jakob. Jakob, the youngest, became well-known as the lead singer of the band The Wallflowers. Bob adopted Sara's daughter Maria from her first marriage, thereby affording her the unique Dylan surname, although Maria is the only family member not to have retained it.

Friends and family have described Sara as a good, loving mother who shunned the limelight. Her only public endeavor was to play the role of Clara in Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara (released 1978).

The couple divorced in July 1977, but remained in regular contact afterward.

Common Biographical Errors

Sara Dylan is often referred to as "Sara Lownds, wife of Bob Dylan", which is inaccurate; "Dylan" is not a stage name but the former Robert Allen Zimmerman's legal surname. Sara Lownds changed her surname to Dylan on her marriage and retained the Dylan surname after they divorced.

Sara Dylan is also sometimes incorrectly identified as "Sara Lowndes"; the error apparently comes from a long-debunked but often-repeated report that her first husband was one-time Playboy executive Victor Lowndes.

The maid of honor at the Dylan wedding was not Sally Grossman, as is sometimes stated; her identity is unknown.

Sara Dylan in Bob Dylan's Songs

Sara Dylan has inspired several of Bob Dylan's songs, at least two directly. The first was "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" (from Blonde on Blonde), and the second the eponymous "Sara" (from 1976's Desire). This song was an attempt to reconcile with Sara after their estrangement around 1975:

I can still hear the sound of the Methodist bellsI had taken the cure and had just gotten throughstaying up for days in the Chelsea Hotelwriting Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands for you

Bob Dylan's 1975 album Blood On The Tracks is widely viewed as the most potent of Sara's inspirations, as nearly every track refers to their relationship in some way. It was recorded soon after their initial separation. Bob, of course, would deny later that "Blood On The Tracks" was autobiographical, but their son Jakob says, "The songs are my parents talking."

Other Bob Dylan songs believed to be inspired by Sara Dylan include Down Along The Cove, Wedding Song, On A Night Like This, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, To Be Alone With You, If Not For You, Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat) and Love Minus Zero/No Limit.

Sources

"Down The Highway, The Life Of Bob Dylan" by Howard Sounes. Doubleday 2001. ISBN 0-552-99929-6

"Bob Dylan Behind The Shades-Take Two" by Clinton Heylin. Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0140281460