Fan-in-chief Barack Obama invested legendary singer songwriter Bob Dylan Tuesday with America’s highest civilian honour, praising the gritty folk legend’s never ending quest for truth. Dylan joined other honourees including former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth and novelist Toni Morrison to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “By the time he was 23, Bob’s voice, with its weight, its unique gravely power, was redefining not just what music sounded like, but the message it carried and how it made people feel,” Obama said. “Today, everybody from Bruce Springsteen to U2 owes Bob a debt of gratitude. “There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music. All these years later, he’s still chasing that sound, still searching for a little bit of truth, and I have to say that I am a really big fan.” Dylan, hiding behind trademark dark glasses, gave no noticeable sign of appreciation or emotion as he was summoned to receive the medal from Obama. “I remember in college listening to Bob Dylan and my world opening up, because he captured something about this country that was so vital,” Obama added. The revered singer-song writer was last at the White House in February 2010, when he performed protest anthem “The Times, They are a Changin’” nearly 50 years after belting out songs of revolution on Washington’s National Mall.
