Songfacts®:

• Dylan had four children between 1966-1969, including his youngest, Jakob, who went on to front The Wallflowers. In 1974, he got back together with his original backing group, The Band, and recorded Planet Waves, which included this uplifting message from a parent to a child. The song has endured as one of Dylan's classics.
• Some of the many artists to cover this song include Joan Baez (1976), Diana Ross (1984), The Pretenders (1994), Susan Anton (2001) and Meat Loaf (2003). Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders said of the song: "It's got such a beautiful lyric. I just love it. He's the pride of our generation. The song is genius."
• Dylan performed "Forever Young" with The Band on Thanksgiving 1976 at The Band's "Last Waltz" concert, which was made into a film and released in 1978 along with a very popular soundtrack album.
• Dylan included two versions of this song on the Planet Waves album: a slow version followed by a more uptempo take labeled "Forever Young (Continued)." The album was Dylan's first to hit #1 in America.
• Rod Stewart released his own song called "Forever Young" in 1988, which is also a message from a parent to a child. Before releasing the song, Stewart and Dylan struck a deal granting Dylan half the publishing. On physical copies of the single and the various albums the song appears on, Dylan isn't listed in the songwriting credits, but his publishing company, Special Rider Music, is. When music went digital, Dylan was listed among the writers of Stewart's song.
• In 2008, illustrator Paul Rodgers published an illustrated children's book based on this song. Dylan's lyrics are used to form the story. >>

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• In 2009, will.i.am remixed "Forever Young" for a popular Pepsi commercial.
• Blake Shelton covered the song for the 2015 family movie Max. The Nashville star is joined on the track by former The Voice team member Gwen Sebastian, who lends harmonies. Their version also served as a trailer for the film.
• The 17-year-old English singer Louisa Johnson performed the song live on The X Factor UK final on December 13, 2015. She released her cover as the winner's single immediately after winning the show, peaking at #9 on the UK chart.
• Patti LaBelle sang "Forever Young" from the Philadelphia stage of Live Aid in 1985. She says it's her most memorable performance. "I walked doen in the audience, and the floor was full of water, and I didn't have any shoes, so people thought I was going to get electrocuted," she told People. "God lifted me, and I sang that song like it was the last song ever in my life."