Bob Dylan? Jersey police want to see some ID

Published 7:58 pm Friday, August 13, 2010

Rock legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by police in a New Jersey community when a resident called to report someone wandering around the neighborhood.

Dylan was in Long Branch on July 23 as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play in nearby Lakewood.

A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch official Howard Woolley said Friday.

“I don’t think she was familiar with his entire body of work,” Woolley said.

The incident began when a resident said a man was wandering around a neighborhood looking at houses.

The police officer drove up to Dylan and asked him his name. According to Woolley, the following exchange ensued:

“What is your name, sir?” the officer asked.

“Bob Dylan,” Dylan said.

“OK, what are you doing here?” the officer asked.

“I’m on tour,” the singer replied.

A second officer, also in his 20s, responded to assist the first officer. He, too, apparently was unfamiliar with Dylan, Woolley said.

The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer of such classics as “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” said that he didn’t have any ID with him.

The officers asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them back to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.