NEW YORK.- The Morgan Library & Museum will presents the exhibit Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966 starting on September 29 and running through January 6, 2007. Bob Dylan's Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966, is the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Bob Dylan's formative early career. The exhibition examines this critical ten-year period by charting Dylan's transformation from folk troubadour to rock innovator during a momentous, turbulent time in American history. Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966 is organized by Experience Music Project, the music museum in Seattle, Washington.

The exhibit, which includes works from the Morgan's collection of Dylan manuscripts and other material given to the Morgan from 1997 to 1999 by collector George Hecksher, follows Dylan's personal and artistic development from his teenage years in Hibbing, Minnesota, to early live performances in Greenwich Village to the historic "electric" performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

This ten-year span also encompasses the release of some of Dylan's seminal albums, including The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), and Blonde on Blonde (1966). The exhibition blends historic artifacts—including handwritten lyrics and letters by Dylan, instruments, rare memorabilia, and photographs—and interpretive films featuring rare performance footage and interviews with Dylan and other artists. Listening stations feature selections from several albums of the period covered by the exhibit.