Virginia Tech music professor weighs in on Bob Dylan's Nobel win

BLACKSBURG (WSLS 10) - As controversy surrounds Bob Dylan's selection as the 2016 Nobel prize winner in literature, one Virginia Tech music professor believes he is deserving.

Professor Jay Crone has studied much of Dylan's work. He said it changed the course of music because it explored deeper, more poetic themes than what had come before.

Dylan is the first American to win the prize since 1993, and will receive it in December.

Crone said many people question the choice because Dylan is a songwriter, rather than a novelist, but that he is one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Dylan will perform at the Berglund Center in Roanoke on Saturday night.