John Swenson — a major voice in the early days of rock and jazz journalism — has died at 71. As reported by Variety, he had been living with cancer for several years and passed away in his home in Brooklyn, New York.
Swenson first began writing about music in 1967, becoming a familiar name in music journalism by the 1970s as he wrote for the likes of Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, Creem, Circus, Rock World and the Village Voice. He would go on to appear in publications like Spin, Saturday Review, Reuters, High Times, Stereophile and many more.
Swenson, along with Dave Marsh, is responsible for compiling the original Rolling Stone Record Guide and editing The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide.
In his later years, Swenson's work began to focus more on jazz music, as he became a contributing writer and editor for the jazz publication Offbeat. His jazz writing often highlighted music coming out of New Orleans, where he lived part-time.
Swenson wrote 15 books in his lifetime, the most recent being 2011's New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans, about musicians living in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
See some social media tributes to Swenson below.
Swenson first began writing about music in 1967, becoming a familiar name in music journalism by the 1970s as he wrote for the likes of Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, Creem, Circus, Rock World and the Village Voice. He would go on to appear in publications like Spin, Saturday Review, Reuters, High Times, Stereophile and many more.
Swenson, along with Dave Marsh, is responsible for compiling the original Rolling Stone Record Guide and editing The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide.
In his later years, Swenson's work began to focus more on jazz music, as he became a contributing writer and editor for the jazz publication Offbeat. His jazz writing often highlighted music coming out of New Orleans, where he lived part-time.
Swenson wrote 15 books in his lifetime, the most recent being 2011's New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans, about musicians living in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
See some social media tributes to Swenson below.