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Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan.
Heylin published a detailed analysis of every song by Dylan in two volumes: Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 1: 1957–73 (2009) and Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 2: 1974–2008 (2010). These books analyse 610 songs written by Dylan, devoting a numbered section to each song. In 2011, to mark Dylan's 70th birthday, Heylin published Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition, which contained 60,000 words of new material to cover Dylan's work since 2000.
He has also written biographies on Van Morrison and Sandy Denny. He received favourable reviews for his studies of Orson Welles, Despite the System: Orson Welles versus the Hollywood Studios, and of Shakespeare's sonnets, So Long As Men Can Breathe.
In 2012, Heylin published a book about the theme of mental illness in British rock music in the 1960s and 1970s. Titled All the Madmen, it includes chapters on the Dialectics of Liberation conference of 1967, Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon, David Bowie's theme of schizophrenia in his songs, the Who's Quadrophenia album, and Nick Drake.
Also in 2012, Heylin published E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, a biography of Bruce Springsteen and an analysis of his achievements in the recording studio.
In 2015, Heylin published It's One for the Money, a history of song publishing since the birth of the popular music industry and the establishment of song copyrights at the beginning of the twentieth century.
In 2016, Heylin published his history of UK Punk rock in the year 1976, Anarchy in the Year Zero: The Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Class of '76.
In October 2016, Heylin published his study of Bob Dylan's 1966 World Tour, Judas!: From Forest Hills to the Free Trade Hall: A Historical View of Dylan's Big Boo. Heylin has also contributed the liner notes for the 36-CD set, , released by Sony/Legacy Recordings, which includes every known recording of Dylan’s 1966 concert tour.
In 2017, Heylin published his account of Dylan's controversial "Born Again" Christian phase, Trouble In Mind: Bob Dylan's Gospel Years: What Really Happened. The book complemented the release of , which consisted of a large number of out-takes and live performances from this period of Dylan's recording and performance career.
In 2018, Heylin published his research into Dylan's recording of the Blood On The Tracks album, No One Else Could Play That Tune. The book complemented the release of which contained all available studio sessions for Blood On The Tracks.
To tie in with Dylan's 80th birthday in May 2021, Heylin published The Double Life of Bob Dylan: Volume I: 1941–1966 A Restless, Hungry Feeling. The first of two volumes, this biography is based on research by Heylin in the newly-established Bob Dylan archive in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Andrew Motion wrote in The Spectator that "Heylin has always been good on this aspect of Dylan’s story — concealment — hence the title of his first biography, and the way this new one repeats an idea of secrecy."
In 2023, Heylin published The Double Life of Bob Dylan Volume 2: 1966-2021 - Far Away From Myself. This 836 page tome continued his project of revising his prior Dylan biographies by utilizing the resources of the Bob Dylan archive in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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