Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blender'', ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' and ''Details'' magazines. A native of

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

, Sheffield has a bachelor's degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

and master's degree (1991) from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. Sheffield lives in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York.

Published works

Sheffield has written several books including a memoir, '' Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time'' (an excerpt of which was featured in the January 2007 issue of '' GQ''), was released by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in January 2007. It was met with much acclaim and was a national bestseller. Sheffield's fifth book, released in April 2017, is called ''Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World''. An excerpt from Sheffield's most recent book, ''Dreaming the Beatles'', was published online by ''Rolling Stone.'' ''USA Today'' gave ''Dreaming the Beatles'' three and one-half (out of four) stars and called it a "charming new collection of essays." ''Spin'' added that "''Dreaming the Beatles'' is equal parts history and cultural criticism, as Sheffield draws from dozens of sources to lay down the story of how

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

came to be, before writing about why any of it matters." MTV opined that "''Dreaming the Beatles'' is one of the best books about the band ever written." Sheffield won the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Foundation's Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism for ''Dreaming the Beatles'' in 2017.

Bibliography

* 2007 – '' Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time''. * 2009 – ''Bande Originale (French Edition)''. * 2010 – ''Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut''. * 2013 – ''Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke''. * 2016 – ''On Bowie''. * 2017 – ''Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World''. * 2019 – ''The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks (Audible book)''.

References

External links

* Living people American music critics American music journalists Rolling Stone people Writers from Boston 1966 births American memoirists People from Milton, Massachusetts Yale University alumni University of Virginia alumni {{US-journalist-1960s-stub