Music writer Dave Marsh, whose sharp criticism and books helped shape the public story around Bruce Springsteen’s career, has died at 76.
Marsh died Friday in Connecticut after living for several years with a degenerative brain disease, his friend Jeffrey St. Clair, co-editor of CounterPunch, told The Associated Press. SiriusXM host Jim Rotolo also confirmed the news on social media.
Springsteen mourned the longtime writer and friend, describing his death as a devastating loss for the E Street Band and those close to him.
Bruce Springsteen remembers a lifelong supporter
In an Instagram tribute, Springsteen recalled Marsh as a fiercely opinionated and deeply committed rock 'n' roll figure whose support had meant a great deal throughout his career.
Springsteen described his longtime friend as soulful, intelligent and passionate, while also acknowledging his famously argumentative nature.
Steven Van Zandt also remembered Marsh as a fearless and relentless writer who embodied the rebellious spirit of rock music.
“He was fearless, relentless, arrogant, everything you'd want in a RocknRoll troublemaker,” Van Zandt wrote, adding that Marsh was also “a tremendous writer.”
The writer who helped tell Springsteen’s story
Marsh became one of Springsteen’s earliest and most prominent champions, writing about the New Jersey rocker for Creem magazine before contributing his first Rolling Stone cover story in 1978.
His 1979 book, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story , became a bestseller and established Marsh as one of the leading chroniclers of the singer’s rise. He returned to Springsteen’s career with Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s , published in 1986.
Marsh was also credited with helping bring Springsteen and his future manager and producer Jon Landau together. According to the long-standing story, Marsh encouraged Landau to attend a Springsteen concert, a meeting that would prove important to the musician’s career.
A Detroit-born voice in rock journalism
Born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1950, Marsh left Wayne State University in 1969 and joined the staff of the emerging Detroit rock publication Creem . There, he became part of a generation of writers who helped give rock criticism a distinctive and sometimes combative voice.
Among his friends and mentors was the late critic Lester Bangs.
Springsteen remained a central figure in Marsh’s life, but his writing extended well beyond one artist. He wrote The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made , as well as books examining The Who and the enduring hit “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen.
A personal bond with Springsteen’s world
Marsh’s connection to Springsteen became even more personal through his marriage to Barbara Carr, who later worked for decades as Springsteen’s co-manager alongside Landau. Springsteen attended Marsh and Carr’s wedding.
The couple also devoted themselves to the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, established after the death of their daughter, Kristen Ann Carr, from sarcoma at 21 in 1993.
Springsteen later performed a benefit concert for the charity at Madison Square Garden in New York, helping raise $1.5 million.
In his later years, Marsh remained closely connected to music broadcasting, appearing regularly as a guest and co-host on SiriusXM’s E Street Nation channel.
For generations of rock fans, however, his most enduring legacy will remain his writing: an outspoken, passionate body of work that helped document Springsteen and the wider history of American rock music.
