Bob Dylan will be rewarded with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the United States, according to a report in the New York Times.
The White House said in a statement that President Obama had named 13 recipients of the medal, which is granted to “individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Dylan was praised by the White House as being among “the most influential American musicians of the 20th century,” for “his rich and poetic lyrics” and for work that has “had considerable influence on the civil rights movement of the 1960s and has had significant impact on American culture over the past five decade.”
The ceremony will take place later this spring. Other recipients include astronaut John Glenn, former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and novelist Toni Morrison.
Dylan will play Hop Farm on June 30. A new album is also rumoured to be due this year.