US music legend Bob Dylan clinches Nobel Prize

ANKARA (AA) – American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition," the Swedish Academy announced Thursday.

The 75-year-old rock legend will receive the prize on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who established the award in 1895.

The award comes with a prize worth 8 million Swedish krona (over $900,000).

Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman to a middle-class Jewish family in 1941 in the Midwestern U.S. state of Minnesota.

His interest in American folk music and blues led him to perform in bands as early as high school.

After moving to New York in 1961, Dylan met famous music producer John Hammond and released his eponymous first album in 1962.

In his 37 studio albums, Dylan has explored themes of religion, politics, and love. Early songs such Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin’ became anthems of the 1960s anti-war and civil rights movements.

His albums have sold more than 100,000 copes. He has won 12 Grammy Awards as well as the Best Song Academy Award for his song Things Have Changed, featured in the film Wonder Boys.

In 2012, Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama.

The 2015 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded to Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".