From: akp1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Adam K. Powers)
Subject: rec.music.dylan survey results! (long)
Reply-To: akp1@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Distribution: rec.music.dylan
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 18:24:30 GMT

	Thanks to all who responded!  Here are the results of the rec.music.
dylan survey:

>I am interested in determining how long we've been listening to Dylan, and in 
>which particular "phase" of his music we became fans.  So, here's the info I'd
>like you to mail:
>	1. Your age.
>	2. When (approximately) you started listening to Dylan.
>	3. What album, song, or live performance got you interested in Dylan's
>	   music.

There were 60 responses to the survey; multiple answers allowed on question 3.

1. Youngest respondents: 18 (2 people).		Oldest respondent: 50.
   Average age:	30
   Median age:	28
   Mode:	27
	Breakdown by intervals of 5 yrs:
	16-20:	 8  respondents
	21-25:	11
	26-30:	20
	31-35:	 7
	36-40:	 5
	41-45:	 4
	46-50:	 5

2. The responses to this question spanned Dylan's entire career, 1961-present.
   I correlated this data with question 1 to determine the age at which the
   respondents began listening to Dylan:
   Youngest starting age: 0! (parents must have been fans)	Oldest: 23.
   Average age:	16
   Median:	16
   Mode:	15

   The vast majority of us (44 respondents) started listening as teenagers.
   I also correlated this data with question 3 to determine whether or not the
   music that first compelled us was Dylan's recent work, or older material.
   For the purposes of this chart, 'recent' means within 2 yrs., and I counted
   from the year of release, so _The Bootleg Series_ would count as 'recent'
   in 1992 and similarly for other retrospectives, to avoid confusion.  Since
   question 3 could have multiple responses, if the respondent listed a
   recent release among his/her responses to question 3, I also considered this
   respondent to be drawn in by 'recent' Dylan.  I hope that makes sense.

	Year began listening:	# of resp.	recent work	older stuff
	---------------------	----------	-----------	-----------
folkie days,	      1961-65	  	8		8		-
rise to rock fame,	65-66		2		2		0
reclusive phase,	67-73		7		3		4
seventies rock star,	74-78	       12		5		7
born-again!		79-82		5		0		5
another comeback?	83-87	       17		8		9
never-ending tour.	88-92		9		2		7
				       --	       --              --
			totals:	       60	       28              32

   The reason that there are so many r.m.d people who started listening in the
   1980's probably has more to do with the average age of people messing around
   on the net than with the actual demographics of dylan fans at large.  It
   seems intuitive that people who entered the college or working world in the
   80's would be more likely to be involved in computer-oriented activities.
   Anyway, the average year that respondents started listening was 1978.
   (median, 1980; mode, 1978)

3. OK, here's the big one.  Again, because of multiple responses, the numbers
   won't add up to 60.  Also, 'recent' here still means within two years.

	Album/song/show/movie	# of resp.   as recent work	as older work
	---------------------	----------   --------------     -------------
_Bob Dylan_ (1st album):		1		0		1
_The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan_:	       12		5		7
cover versions of "Blowin' in
   the Wind,""Masters of War":		1		1		0
_The Times They Are A-Changin'_:	1		0		1
"With God on Our Side":			2		1		1
"When the Ship Comes In":		1		1		0
concert w/ Joan Baez @
   Forest Hills in 1963:		1		1		0
_Another Side of Bob Dylan_:		2		1		1
"All I Really Want to Do":		1		1		0
_Bringing it All Back Home_:		2		0		2
movie- Don't Look Back:			1		0		1
_Highway 61 Revisited_:			6		2		4
"Like a Rolling Stone":			2		1		1
"Ballad of a Thin Man":			1		1		0
"Desolation Row":			1		0		1
_Blonde on Blonde_:			4		0		4
"Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands":	1		0		1
_Greatest Hits_:			4		0		4
_John Wesley Harding_:			1		1		0
_Concert for Bangladesh_:		2		1		1
_Greatest Hits, Vol. II_:		1		1		0
_Planet Waves_:				1		0		1
_Before the Flood_:			2		0		2
_Blood on the Tracks_:			6		3		3
_The Last Waltz_:			1		0		1
_At Budokan_:				2		2		0
_Slow Train Coming_:			1		0		1
_Infidels_:				2		2		0
_Biograph_:				4		4		0
_Empire Burlesque_:			2		2		0
_Oh Mercy_:				1		1		0
_The Bootleg Series, Vol. I-III_:	1		1		0

   _The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan_ was by far the top choice as first album,
   followed by _Highway 61 Revisited_ and _Blood on the Tracks_.  Most of
   the responses indicated that Dylan's '62 to '66 material was what first
   attracted them (surprise, surprise).  I find it interesting to note that
   most of the fans who picked up on Dylan in the mid-70's were not drawn
   by the '74 tour or the Rolling Thunder Revue;  of the people who became
   fans from 1974 to 1980 by way of recent material, all listed either
   _Blood on the Tracks_; or, surprisingly, _At Budokan_.  Of course, that only
   accounts for five people!  I was happily surprised to see the two
   _Concert for Bangladesh_ responses!  If anybody else finds something 
   interesting in this info., feel free to let me know.  Thanks for your time!

						-Adam K. Powers