David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior 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.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about
rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years.
In the 1990s, he was the magazine's
music editor before stepping down.
Early life and education
Fricke graduated from
Muhlenberg College in
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
, in 1973.
Career
The first concert that Fricke attended was a show by
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. His love of live music inspired him to pursue a career in music journalism.
He has recalled meeting
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
at a promotional event in Washington, DC for the former
Beatle's ''
Thirty Three & 1/3'' album, as a particularly "remarkable moment", saying, "it changed the way I listened to his music ... I had spoken to the man, not the History."
Before joining ''Rolling Stone'', where he became senior editor, he wrote for ''
Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
'', ''
Trouser Press'', ''
Synapse
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending o ...
'' and ''Good Times''.
He has since written for ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'', ''
Mojo'', and ''
JazzTimes
''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade ...
''.
Fricke has been nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for his album liner notes and is a three-time winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism.
He has appeared on the ''
Classic Albums'' documentaries on the making of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
's ''
The Dark Side of the Moon'',
Cream's ''
Disraeli Gears'',
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
's ''
Hysteria'',
Nirvana's ''
Nevermind'',
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's ''
Black Album'',
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
's ''
So'',
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
's ''
Apostrophe
The apostrophe (, ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes:
* The marking of the omission of one o ...
'' and ''
Over-Nite Sensation'' as well as
Rush's ''
Moving Pictures'' and ''
2112'' albums. Fricke has also appeared on a number of
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
documentaries and in the
Wilco
Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
documentary ''
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart''.
The
Domino Recording Company released the North American version of the 30th anniversary reissue of
Aztec Camera's debut album, ''
High Land, Hard Rain'' in 2014 with liner notes written by Fricke.
As of 2013, he was creator of the "Fricke's Picks Radio" podcast and the ''Alternate Take'' blog in ''Rolling Stone'' as well as serving as the Host of the Friday Night Affair on “Tom Petty Radio”.
He is currently a DJ at
Sirius XM Radio.
Bibliography
Essays and reporting
*
Album reviews
Liner notes
Fricke has written
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards.
Origin
Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
for a number of albums, compilations and
box set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
s, including:
*The 1979
Kevin Roth album ''New Wind''
*The 1993
Moby Grape compilation ''
Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape''
*The 1993
John Prine compilation ''
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology''
*The 1993
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
compilation ''
Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2''
*The 1994
Hüsker Dü live album ''
The Living End
The Living End is an Australian punk rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after ...
''
*The 1995
Velvet Underground box set ''
Peel Slowly and See''; the 1997 "Fully Loaded" reissue of ''
Loaded''
*
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
1996–2000 CD reissue series
*The 1997
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...
compilation ''
Old Friends''
*The 1997
Paul Kelly compilation ''
Songs from the South''
*The 1998
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
covers compilation ''
Garage Inc.''
*The 1998
Long Ryders 2-CD compilation ''Anthology''
*The 1999 Captain Beefheart box set Grow Fins: Rarities 1965-1982
*The 1999
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
live compilation ''
Live at Woodstock''
*The 1999
Ramones compilation ''
Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology''
*The 2002
Nirvana "best-of" compilation ''
Nirvana''
*The 2003
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
Back in Black reissue ''
Back in Black (remaster)''
*The 2004
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
box set ''
The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992''
*The 2005
Violent Femmes "best of" compilation ''
Permanent Record: The Very Best of Violent Femmes''; the 2024 box set ''Violent Femmes''
*The 2006 Def Leppard 20th Anniversary ''
Hysteria "Deluxe Edition"''
*The 2006
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
box set ''
The MOFO Project/Object''
*The 2007
The Church "best of" compilation ''Deep in the Shallows''
*The 2007 Led Zeppelin "best of" compilation ''
Mothership''
*The 2008
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
box set ''
The Stranger 30th Anniversary Edition''
*The 2009 Frank Zappa box set ''
Lumpy Money''
*The 2009
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
box set ''
Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings''
*The 2013
The Numbers Band (a.k.a. 15-60-75) reissue ''Jimmy Bell's Still In Town (1975)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fricke, David
Living people
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American journalists
21st-century American male writers
American magazine editors
American male journalists
American music critics
American music journalists
Muhlenberg College alumni
Rock critics
Rolling Stone people
Year of birth missing (living people)