Modern Times cover art

  Studio Album · No. 29

Modern Times Songwriting Credits by Bob Dylan

2006 Columbia Records 10 tracks 63 min
Columbia Records Folk rockBluesRockabillyAmericana
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Bob Dylan carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Bob Dylan 0 tracksoutside writers
Bob Dylan's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
1
Lyricists
1
Producers
2006
Released

Awards & Recognition 2

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album (2007)
Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (Someday Baby) (2007)
Data Insight

All songs on Modern Times are credited to Bob Dylan, who produced it under his Jack Frost pseudonym. The album draws on older blues and pre-rock styles, and it prompted discussion of uncredited lines adapted from the poet Henry Timrod and from Ovid. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, Dylan's first US chart-topper in three decades.

Released August 29, 2006, Modern Times completed what many critics called a trilogy with Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft, with Dylan self-producing under the Jack Frost pseudonym. All tracks are credited solely to Dylan, though the album generated scholarly scrutiny: lines were traced to 19th-century Confederate poet Henry Timrod, melodies were adapted from Bing Crosby standards, Sleepy John Estes, and the 1935 standard "Red Sails in the Sunset," and "The Levee's Gonna Break" adapts Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, none credited in the liner notes. The album blends folk rock, blues, rockabilly, and Americana in a style critics called a continuation of its predecessors' pre-rock balladry. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, Dylan's first chart-topper since Desire (1976), sold over four million copies worldwide, and won two Grammy Awards including Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Thunder on the Mountain
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
2
Spirit on the Water
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
3
Rollin' and Tumblin'
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
4
When the Deal Goes Down
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
5
Someday Baby
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
6
Workingman's Blues #2
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
7
Beyond the Horizon
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
8
Nettie Moore
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
9
The Levee's Gonna Break
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
10
Ain't Talkin'
Robert Allen Zimmermann Robert Allen Zimmermann Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 2 contributors

More from Bob Dylan

1962 15%
Bob Dylan
Columbia Records
13 tracks
1963 100%
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Columbia Records
13 tracksProd. Tom Wilson
1964 100%
The Times They Are a-Changin'
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1964 100%
Another Side of Bob Dylan
Columbia Records
11 tracks
1965 100%
Bringing It All Back Home
Columbia Records
11 tracks
1965 100%
Highway 61 Revisited
Columbia Records
9 tracksProd. Bob Johnston
1966 100%
Blonde on Blonde
Columbia Records
14 tracks
1967 100%
John Wesley Harding
Columbia Records
12 tracks
1969 100%
Nashville Skyline
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1970 33%
Self Portrait
Columbia Records
24 tracks
1970 100%
New Morning
Columbia Records
12 tracks
1973 100%
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1974 100%
Planet Waves
Asylum Records
11 tracks
1975 100%
Blood on the Tracks
Columbia Records
10 tracksProd. Bob Dylan
1976 100%
Desire
Columbia Records
9 tracksProd. Don DeVito
1978 100%
Street Legal
Columbia Records
9 tracks
1979 100%
Slow Train Coming
Columbia Records
9 tracks
1980 89%
Saved
Columbia Records
9 tracks
1981 100%
Shot of Love
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1983 100%
Infidels
Columbia Records
8 tracks
1985 100%
Empire Burlesque
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1986 63%
Knocked Out Loaded
Columbia Records
8 tracks
1988 40%
Down in the Groove
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1989 100%
Oh Mercy
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1990 100%
Under the Red Sky
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1992 0%
Good as I Been to You
Columbia Records
13 tracks
1993 0%
World Gone Wrong
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1997 100%
Time Out of Mind
Columbia Records
11 tracks
2001 100%
Love and Theft
Columbia Records
12 tracks
2009 100%
Together Through Life
Columbia Records
10 tracks
2012 100%
Tempest
Columbia Records
10 tracks
2015 0%
Shadows in the Night
Columbia Records
10 tracks
2016 0%
Fallen Angels
Columbia Records
12 tracks
2017 0%
Triplicate
Columbia Records
18 tracks
2020 100%
Rough and Rowdy Ways
Columbia Records
10 tracks
2023 100%
Shadow Kingdom
Columbia Records
14 tracks

Frequently Asked Questions Modern Times

Did Bob Dylan write the songs on Modern Times?
All songs on Modern Times are credited to Bob Dylan in the liner notes. Critics noted some melodies and lines draw on older blues songs and on the poets Henry Timrod and Ovid.
Did Modern Times by Bob Dylan reach number one?
Yes. Modern Times debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 2006. It was Dylan's first US number-one album in about three decades.
Did Modern Times by Bob Dylan win any Grammys?
Yes. Modern Times won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, and Someday Baby won Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance at the 2007 ceremony.
What was the single from Modern Times?
Someday Baby was released as the single from Modern Times in 2006. It later won a Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
Who produced Bob Dylan's Modern Times?
Bob Dylan produced Modern Times under the name Jack Frost. Chris Shaw engineered and mixed the album.
Is Modern Times by Bob Dylan certified Platinum?
Yes. Modern Times is certified Platinum by the RIAA in the United States and also went Platinum in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Sources