Anthony DeCurtis is an American author and music critic, who has written for
Rolling Stone, The New York Times,
Relix and other publications.
He is now a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where his work has appeared for more than thirty years. He holds a Ph.D. in American literature from Indiana University, and teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a music critic for WFUV-FM, where he does on-air reviews.He is the author of
In Other Words: Artists Talk About Life and Work (Hal Leonard Publishing Co, 2005) and
Rocking My Life Away: Writing About Music and Other Matters (Duke University Press, 1998), and editor of
Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture (Duke University Press, 1992) and "Blues & Chaos: The Music Writing of Robert Palmer" (Scribner, 2009). He co-edited the third editions of the
Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll and the
Rolling Stone Album Guide.His essay accompanying the Eric Clapton box set
Crossroads won a Grammy in the "Best Album Notes" category, and on three occasions he has won ASCAP's Deems Taylor awards for excellence in writing about music. He has appeared as a commentator on MTV, VH1, the
Today Show and many other news and entertainment programs. From 2006 through June of 2008 he directed and helped design the arts-and-culture curriculum at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He was an editorial consultant and the primary interviewer for "Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound," a documentary for PBS American Masters. DeCurtis has currently joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.
He was also a judge for the 7th and 8th Independent Music Awards.