Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award
| Ralph J. Gleason | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Ralph Joseph Gleason March 1, 1917 New York City |
| Died | June 3, 1975 (aged 58) Berkeley, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | critic, columnist, editor |
Ralph Joseph Gleason (March 1, 1917 – June 3, 1975) was an American jazz and popular music critic. He contributed for many years to the San Francisco Chronicle, was a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and cofounder of the Monterey Jazz Festival. A pioneering rock critic, he helped the San Francisco Chronicle transition into the rock era.
Gleason was born in New York City and graduated from Columbia University (where he was news editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator) in 1938. During World War II, he worked for the Office of War Information.
In 1947, he moved to San Francisco and began contributing to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1950, initiating the first regular coverage of jazz and pop music in the mainstream US media. Gleason was the first critic to review folk, pop, and jazz concerts with the same attention and space as was given to classical music. He interviewed such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino. Gleason was one of the first critics to perceive the importance of Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, and Miles Davis. He wrote liner notes for a broad variety of releases, including the 1959 Sinatra album No One Cares andthe 1970 Davis album Bitches Brew. From 1948 to 1960, he doubled as an associate editor and critic for Down Beat. He also taught music appreciation courses at University of California Extension (1960-1963) and Sonoma State University (1965-1967).
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