Bob Dylan Takes Shots At His Haters In Awards Speech

Singer-songwriter legend Bob Dylan accepted an award Friday night and used the opportunity to show some love and also fire back at his haters in a 30-minute acceptance speech.Dylan was awarded the MusiCares Person of the Year, for his contributions to the music industry and his dedication to philanthropy, last night in the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event is associated with the GRAMMYs, which will be held on Sunday night. According to USA Today, Dylan took shots at music industry figures and musicians who weren't particularly fond of him and his music, and those that he wasn't fond of either, including:

• Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (songwriters) : "I didn't really care what Leiber & Stoller thought of my songs. That was all right they didn't like them. 'Cause I didn't like their songs, either."
  
• Ahmet Ertegun (founder of Atlantic Records): "Ahmet Ertegun didn't think much of my songs, but Sam Phillips did... I would rather have Sam Phillips' blessing any day."
  
• Merle Haggard: "Merle Haggard didn't even think much of my songs. I know he didn't. He didn't say that to me, but I know way back when he didn't. Buck Owens did, and he recorded some of my early songs."
  
• Tom T. Hall (country songwriter): "If (Kris Kristofferson's) 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' rattled Tom's cage and sent him into the looney bin, my songs surely would have made him blow his brains out."
  
• Marsha Ambrosius (soul singer): "Critics say I mangle my melodies, render my songs unrecognizable. Let me tell you something: I was at a boxing match a few years ago, seeing Floyd Mayweather fight a Puerto Rican guy. [A] very popular soul-singing sister was chosen to sing [the "Star-Spangled Banner"]. She sang every note. That exists. And some that don't exist. Talk about mangling a melody. To me, it was not funny. Mangling lyrics, mangling a melody, mangling a treasured song. No, I get the blame."
  

Although ol' Bobby can usually be full of piss and vinegar, he also took the time to thank and credit fellow musicians he felt were supportive and helped to popularize many of his most beloved songs. Among them included Nina Simone, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, The Staple Singers, former partner Joan Baez, and of course Jimi Hendrix. "[Hendrix] took some small songs of mine that nobody paid any attention to and brought them up into the outer limits of the stratosphere."

Dylan did not perform at the event on Friday night, but an all-star lineup featuring the likes of Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Bonnie Raitt play a 17-song set of some of his most famous songs. Consequence of Sound has a setlist along with some Vine clips.