Dave Marsh, renowned rock critic and biographer, has died. An early editor of Creem who also wrote for Village Voice, Rolling Stone and Newsday, Marsh wrote one of the first and most influential biographies of Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, in 1979. He died on 14 August at his home in Connecticut; the cause of his death has not been publicly disclosed. Marsh was 76.
Jim Rotolo, Marsh's long-time programming partner at SiriusXM's Springsteen-focused E Street Radio station, confirmed the news on social media on 15 August. "Sad news today, E Street Nation", Rotolo wrote. "Bruce Springsteen biographer, SiriusXM host and my friend Dave Marsh passed away yesterday evening at his home in Connecticut. Dave wrote several books about Bruce as part of a notable body of work spanning around 25 titles".
An early champion of Springsteen's work, Marsh regularly praised Springsteen in Creem before most others, and infamously brought critic Jon Landau to his first Springsteen concert in 1974. Marsh also wrote the first major Rolling Stone cover story on the Boss in 1978. After publishing Born to Run, Marsh updated the biography several times over the years, most recently in 2003. (Marsh's passion for Springsteen eventually became a family affair—his wife, Barbara Carr, was one of Springsteen's co-managers for decades.) He also co-founded E Street Radio and hosted multiple programmes on the SiriusXM channel dedicated to E Street Nation, which will pay tribute to Marsh on Wednesday 19 August, beginning at 10 AM ET.
"My great friend Dave, with his typical Detroit attitude, was a true rock and roll musician for life", Springsteen shared in a statement. "He was spiritual, intelligent, sincere, opinionated, fierce and frequently fantastically argumentative. Watching Jon Landau and Dave go at each other over some arcane piece of music would make my day. He wrote the first book about me, Born To Run, and Dave always supported me. He believed deeply in what I was trying to achieve and his lifelong support meant the world to me".
"More than anything, I admired Dave as a man of conscience and commitment", Springsteen's statement concluded. "He lived and remained true to his values come what may. Wherever he is, I hope he is receiving some of the grace, happiness and reward he has brought to my life. God bless you Dave". Born in Pontiac, Michigan in 1960, Marsh's journalism career began when he helped launch Creem shortly after leaving Wayne State University in 1969. These early years saw him working alongside legends such as Lester Bangs, bringing his passion for Detroit music to the pages of Creem. He left the magazine in 1973 to join Newsday as music editor, and subsequently rose to the rank of associate editor at Rolling Stone, where he became known for his incisive and frequently unrelenting reviews. (He once rated Queen as "the first truly fascist rock band".) He brought his expertise to a 26-year stint with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's nominating committee.
