Bob Dylan Is First American in More Than Two Decades to Win Nobel Prize in Literature

Swedish-based committee honored the singer-songwriter Thursday

The times they are a-changin' within the Nobel Prize committee. 

Bob Dylan is now officially the first American since novelist Toni Morrison's 1993 win to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. A relatively unconventional honoree for the category reserved typically for more traditional authors and poets, the singer-songwriter is undoubtedly considered one of the most influential voices of all time. 

In a statement released Thursday, the Swedish Academy noted that Dylan deserved the award "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

And although Dylan isn't necessarily the first lyricist to earn the coveted accolade, he is the category's first popular music performer. 

Across his decades-spanning career, Dylan released 37 studio albums and 58 singles, which ultimately earned him 11 Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. In 2012, President Barack Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award to the musician. 

At 75-years-old, Dylan still performs to sold-out stadiums, most recently alongside rock legends The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney at the Desert Trip Festival in Indio, Calif. 

Congratulations to Bob on an achievement so well-deserved!