1965 Hit Ranked Among 'Greatest Songs of All Time' Became A Rock Classic

In 1965, American folk singer Bob Dylan released one of the most innovative and formative rock tracks of the decade. "Like A Rolling Stone" remains one of Dylan's most popular songs today, but the single wasn't always a massive success.

At the time, Columbia Records were hesitant to release "Like A Rolling Stone" due to its electric rock influences. Dylan had made a name for himself as a pioneering voice in traditional American folk music, and the introduction of electric instruments on his previous album, Bringing It AllBack Home, had been a point of particular controversy.

Five days after releasing "Like A Rolling Stone" as a single, Dylan was booed off stage at the Newport Folk Festival for allegedly turning his back on folk music and succumbing to the cheap trend of electric rock. This particular era of Dylan's career still causes controversy today, but it remains his most commercially successful period.

"Like A Rolling Stone" charted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and introduced a whole new audience to Dylan's music for the first time. Much like "Subterranean Homesick Blues" from earlier that year, this new electric sound was a revolutionary tool for Dylan to branch out of his traditonal folk niche.

Although fans weren't all happy with Dylan's decision to drift further and further into the growing rock scene, his record sales were boosted massively. It also encouraged plenty of Dylan's contempoaries to push themselves outside of typical genre conventions.

Dylan's biography recounts an anecdote where Paul McCartney of the Beatles heard "Like A Rolling Stone" for the first time with his bandmate John Lennon. "It seemed to go on and on forever. It was just beautiful ... He showed all of us that it was possible to go a little further," McCartney reportedly said.

Rolling Stone ranked Dylan's track No. 4 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It had previously been placed at No. 1 for the 2004 and 2010 revisions, but has since fallen three spaces.

They write: "Just as Dylan bent folk music’s roots and forms to his own will, he transformed popular song with the content and ambition of “Like a Rolling Stone.” And in his electrifying vocal performance, his best on record, Dylan proved that everything he did was, first and always, rock & roll."

The song was later included on Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.