Dave Marsh, Influential Critic, Activist, Broadcaster & Biographer of Bruce Springsteen, Dies at 76

Dave Marsh, one of the most influential music writers of his generation and a passionate activist for health care, social justice and freedom of expression, died on Friday (Aug 14).

The cause of his death has not been reported but he had been in declining health in recent years.

Born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1950, Dave grew up immersed in the sounds of Detroit — Motown, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll — inspiring a lifelong belief in the power of music.

Marsh was among the first editors of Creem magazine when it launched in 1969. He wrote extensively for Rolling Stone and other publications and authored more than two dozen books on artists including Elvis Presley, The Who and Bruce Springsteen. His 1979 biography, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, became a New York Times bestseller. In 1993, Marsh shared a Grammy for best album notes for Aretha Franklin’s Queen of Soul.

He also co-founded the newsletter Rap & Rock Confidential and, in 2004, joined SiriusXM, hosting Kick Out the Jams for 19 years, along with Live from E Street Nation and Live from the Land of Hope and Dreams.

He was married to Barbara Carr, longtime co-manager of Springsteen. Following the death of their daughter, Kristen Ann Carr, in 1993 at age 21 of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Marsh co-founded and served as a trustee of the The Kristen Ann Carr Fund to advance sarcoma research and support families affected by cancer.

“Here on E Street, the irreplaceable loss of Dave Marsh has us heartbroken,” Springsteen wrote in a statement shared Saturday on Instagram. “My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock ‘n’ Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative. Watching Jon Landau and Dave drive each other crazy over some arcane piece of music would make my day. He wrote the first book about me, Born To Run, and Dave always had my back. He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me.”

Added Springsteen, “More than anything else, I admired Dave as a man of conscience and commitment. He lived and stuck by his values come hell or high water. Wherever he is, I hope he’s receiving some of the grace, happiness and reward he’s brought into my life. God bless you Dave.”

“Dave Marsh has always been a tireless advocate of justice, human rights and rock ’n’ roll,” wrote Tom Morello, co-founder of Rage Against the Machine, in 2023 upon the publication of an anthology of Marsh’s work titled Kick Out The Jams: Jibes, Barbs, Tributes, and Rallying Cries from 35 Years of Music Writing.  

“His pen and voice are an important player in the history of the music we love and the struggle for a more just and decent world,” Morello wrote.

Lauren Onkey, the former senior director of NPR Music, in her introduction to Kick Out the Jams, wrote: “Dave Marsh has been writing about music like our lives depended on it.”

In 2021, a host of authors, activists and artists — including Morello, Pete Townshend, Springsteen, Nona Hendryx, Dion DiMucci, Jackson Browne and Steven Van Zandt — took part in online sessions billed as ” Land of Hope and Dreams: A Celebration of Dave Marsh’s Work and Vision.”

Across more than five decades, through his writing about music, Marsh offered insights into issues of community, class, race, politics, health, the environment, the music industry and more. Marsh also was a generous mentor and advocate for many younger music writers.

Marsh “helped build alliances that fought against racial and class bigotry and for free speech, voting rights, economic justice — inside and outside the music industry — environmental justice, universal health care, cancer research, as well as visions of human liberation,” said longtime friend and anthology co-editor Danny Alexander at the time of that 2023 celebration. “Perhaps more than anyone I know, he taught me what that old Woody Guthrie line meant: ‘Nobody wins unless everybody wins.’”

Marsh was predeceased by his daughters Kristen Ann Carr and Sasha Carr. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Carr. A complete list of his survivors and plans for a service were not immediately available.