Spoilers for A Complete Unknown are ahead!

The Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, leaves out many real-life events in Bob Dylan’s life, impacting the audience’s view of a complex man. The 2024 film tells the story of Bob Dylan’s life in the 1960s, ending with his memorable performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Rather than sticking to the facts, A Complete Unknown focuses more on capturing the essence of Bob Dylan in the 1960s, shedding light on the enigmatic musician instead.

This diversion from the truth is typical when Hollywood adapts true stories, and I can forgive many of A Complete Unknown’s changes to Bob Dylan’s real life. Creative choices can help тιԍнтen the narrative and tell a compelling story. However, the choice to leave out events in Bob Dylan’s life feels more difficult to overlook. Some of the omitted events between 1961 and 1965 are just as interesting and engaging as the fictionalized story, while others played a major role in shaping the influential musician.

8

Bob Dylan Performed At Carnegie Hall Before He Became Famous

A Complete Unknown Only Shows Bob Dylan Performing At Carnegie Hall Afterwards

Carnegie Hall is one of the most sought-after performance venues, hosting some of the most accomplished performers, and A Complete Unknown shows Bob Dylan performing there after The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Performing at Carnegie Hall is typically a milestone that proves an artist or group has made it. However, Bob Dylan made his debut at the venue on November 4, 1961, according to the Carnegie Hall website.

He paid $60 for the booking fee, which would be the equivalent of $635.34 today. He charged $2 per ticket, which equates to $21.18 now. During the concert, he played “Pretty Peggy-O,” “In The Pines,” “Gospel Plow,” “1913 Mᴀssacre,” “Backwater Blues,” “A Long Time A-Growin,” and “Fixin’ to Die.” Impressively, his Carnegie Hall debut occurred five months before he released his self-тιтled first album.

7

Bob Dylan Was Accused Of Plagiarizing “Blowin’ in the Wind”

The Bob Dylan Plagiarism Rumor Is Still Remembered Today

The funniest detail left out of A Complete Unknown is the fact that Bob Dylan was accused of plagiarizing his hit song “Blowin’ in the Wind” from a high school student named Lorre Wyatt. While plagiarism accusations do not typically amuse me, the true story was so bizarre it’s laughable. In actuality, the high school student crafted a lie that he wrote the song after seeing it published in the magazine Broadside.

His singing group, the Millburnaires, learned and performed the song. Bob Dylan hadn’t released the song yet or obtained the copyright, so the students, teachers, and families first heard it from Wyatt. When he felt guilty and insisted they not perform the song again, he told a teacher that he sold it to a singer. Somehow, the rumor is still remembered five decades after Wyatt revealed the truth.

6

Bob Dylan Got Caught In A Lie By A Reporter

A Newsweek Reporter Figured Out Bob Dylan Lied About His Past

As shown in A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan was known to lie about his childhood. His statement about running away to the circus wasn’t his only fib. He created numerous backstories for himself. Unfortunately, a Newsweek reporter caught him in a few lies in November 1963. The musician denied ever having the name Bobby Zimmerman, and he said that he hadn’t spoken to his parents in years.

Unfortunately for Dylan, the reporter knew his parents were only a few blocks away, preparing to see their son in Carnegie Hall. Nowadays, it’s fairly common knowledge that Bob Dylan lies, crafts stories, and is an all-around unreliable narrator. However, this was a big deal at the time of the article’s release, and I’m surprised they didn’t include the Newsweek story in A Complete Unknown.

5

Bob Dylan Made His Official Recording Debut On Harry Belafonte’s The Midnight Special Album

Bob Dylan’s Self-тιтled First Album Wasn’t His Official Recording Debut

As a part of the Greenwich Village scene, Bob Dylan came in contact with many major artists who gained fame. Although A Complete Unknown includes many of these real-life people, it leaves out others. One such person was the calypso singer Harry Belafonte. The singer explained in an article with MOJO how he gave Dylan his official recording debut. Belefonte was recording this album, The Midnight Special, when his harmonica player, Sonny Terry, got stuck in Memphis. His guitar player had seen Dylan playing in the village and knew he could handle the job.

With no other options, they tracked down Bob Dylan and had him record the harmonica parts. Afterward, he refused to listen to the recording or do a second take, which fits with his recording tactic. He threw out his harmonica and then left. He spent decades believing Dylan hated the project. Belafonte only learned through Bob Dylan’s autobiography that Dylan had so much respect for him.

4

Bob Dylan Abused Substances In The Early 1960s

Bob Dylan Admitted To Having A Heroin Addiction In A 1966 Interview

One of the darker parts of Bob Dylan’s life that A Complete Unknown mostly left out is that the singer abused substances in the early 1960s, reaching a peak in 1966. Rumors have always existed that Dylan abused substances. According to Far Out, his filmmaker, DA Pennebaker, alleged that Bob Dylan was taking amphetamines and other substances throughout the 1966 tour, which Dylan confirmed in 1969. However, the severity of the situation came back into public attention in 2011.

BBC News revealed that Bob Dylan admitted to having a heroin addiction in the early 1960s when speaking to journalist Robert Shelton in March 1966 in an uncovered interview. The singer said, “I got very, very strung out for a while. I mean really, very strung out.” He admitted to spending around $25 a day, which is around $250 today, on heroin. Though the film explores the effect of fame on Bob Dylan, the closest that A Complete Unknown comes to addressing this dark truth is by showing him drinking a lot.

3

Bob Dylan Walked Off The Set Of The Ed Sullivan Show

Bob Dylan Refused To Compromise His Lyrics For The Network

Bob Dylan has always had a reputation for refusing to compromise his values and his desires. A prime example of this happened in May 1963, when he auditioned to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, the highest-rated variety show in the United States of America at the time. During the audition, he performed “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues,” which made fun of the conservative group the John Birch Society.

He was accepted as an act, but things turned sour during the dress rehearsal. A CBS executive in the Standards and Practices department told producer Bob Precht that Bob Dylan couldn’t sing the song since it could cause controversy. He could either change his song or change the lyrics of “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues.” In a shocking move that would become national news, Bob Dylan walked off the set, refusing to perform.

2

Bob Dylan (Probably) Introduced The Beatles To Cannabis

Bob Dylan & The Beatles Meeting Is A Monumental Moment In Rock ‘N’ Roll History

Bob Dylan and The Beatles meeting for the first time is considered a monumental moment in rock ‘n’ roll history. The two groups may have influenced one another to shift directions when they met in 1964. However, the more amusing part of the true story is the fact that Bob Dylan got The Beatles high on cannabis, and it might have been their first time trying the substance.

To decrease the awkwardness of meeting new people, Bob Dylan brought cannabis to share with The Beatles when meeting up with them. According to Far Out, Dylan’s road manager gave a joint to each member of The Beatles. They got so high that Paul McCartney reported that he thought he’d figured out the meaning of life. As funny and iconic as this story is, the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic was wise not to include the moment since casting The Beatles would’ve been an impossible feat. Additionally, A Complete Unknown’s ending skipped over most of 1964.

1

Bob Dylan Dated And Married A Woman Named Sara Lownds

Bob Dylan & Sara Lownds Got Together In 1964 While He Was Still Dating Joan Baez

A Complete Unknown‘s most contentious omission of Bob Dylan’s life in the early 1960s is his girlfriend-turned-wife Sara Lownds. The pair met and started dating in 1964, overlapping with Dylan’s relationship to Joan Baez. Right before the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan and Sara Lownds went on a vacation together (via Variety).

The two married just four months after the festival, when Lownds was pregnant with their first child. The pair would go on to have three more children. Bob Dylan also adopted Sara’s daughter, Maria. Although his romance with Joan Baez is better remembered, Dylan’s relationship with Lownds was arguably his most important relationship, lasting from 1964 to 1977. As such, it’s shocking that A Complete Unknown left her out of the story entirely.