Paul Nelson (critic)
Encyclopedia
Paul Nelson was a folk
and rock
music critic who wrote for Sing Out!
and Rolling Stone
. He was instrumental in launching and supporting the careers of Bob Dylan
, The New York Dolls, Elliott Murphy
, Bruce Springsteen
, Jackson Browne
and Warren Zevon
. Nelson defended Bob Dylan
when he "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival
in 1965. Nelson was found dead in his Manhattan
apartment in July of 2006. Heart disease was determined to be the cause of death, according to the medical examiner's office in New York City.
In November of 2011, Fantagraphics Books
published Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson, by Kevin Avery. Another book edited by Avery, "Conversations With Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood 1979-1983" published at the same time from Continuum Books.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
music critic who wrote for Sing Out!
Sing Out!
Sing Out! is a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that has been published since May 1950.-Background:Sing Out! is the primary publication of the tax exempt, not-for-profit, educational corporation of the same name...
and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. He was instrumental in launching and supporting the careers of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The New York Dolls, Elliott Murphy
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.-Biography:Elliott James Murphy, Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York to a show business family...
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
and Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
. Nelson defended Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
when he "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
in 1965. Nelson was found dead in his Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
apartment in July of 2006. Heart disease was determined to be the cause of death, according to the medical examiner's office in New York City.
In November of 2011, Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
published Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson, by Kevin Avery. Another book edited by Avery, "Conversations With Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood 1979-1983" published at the same time from Continuum Books.
External links
- "What Ever Happened to Rock Critic Paul Nelson? from RockCritics.com
- "The Underground Man: A Tribute to Paul Nelson, 1936 - 2006" from RockCritics.com