As Bob Dylan turns 80, here are his LI connections

Bob Dylan turns 80 on Monday. To mark this auspicious occasion, here are five connections the legendary singer-songwriter has to Long Island:

1. He got quietly married on Nov. 22, 1965, to Sara Lownds in Mineola (one report said the ceremony was held outdoors under an oak tree; another report said it was indoors in a judge's chambers). The ceremony, at which the only guests were Dylan's manager Albert Grossman and a bridesmaid for Lownds, took place during a break in his tour. Lownds was 7 months pregnant with their son Jesse (they would have three more children and Dylan would adopt a child from Lownds' previous marriage). The couple divorced in 1977.

2. His first Long Island show was at the long-gone Island Garden in West Hempstead on Feb. 26, 1966, a stop on his world tour that year. This was Dylan's first electric tour — he was backed by The Hawks, who would soon become stars on their own as The Band.

3. In the 1970s, he owned a home on Nichols Lane in East Hampton that once belonged to the automotive Ford family. "There was plenty to do," Dylan wrote in "Chronicles: Volume One," his 2004 memoir: "We had five kids and often went to the beach, boated on the bay, dug for clams, spent afternoons at a lighthouse near Montauk, went to Gardiner’s Island — hunted for Captain Kidd’s buried treasure — rode bikes, go-carts and pulled wagons — went to the movies and the outdoor markets, walked around on Division Street — drove over to Springs a lot, a painter’s paradise where [Willem] de Kooning had his studio."

4. His first Nassau Coliseum shows were Jan. 28 and 29, 1974, part of his first major tour in eight years. He again was backed by The Band.

5. His most recent Long Island appearance was at the renovated Nassau Coliseum on Nov. 8, 2017. Among the songs he performed was a cover of Frank Sinatra's "September of My Years."

By Andy Edelstein

andy.edelstein@newsday.com

Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."