Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

, manager, and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. He has worked with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

. He is the head of the nominating committee for the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, and received that institution's

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...

Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2020.

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Landau grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and then in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

before his family moved to the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

suburb of

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...

when he was 12. He attended Lexington High School and then

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, where he earned a degree in history with honors. Aligning himself with the growing underground culture of late-1960s Boston, Landau carved out a niche while writing for the music magazine '' Crawdaddy''. A failed performer yet a passionate, devoted fan, Landau championed the straightforward rock and roll that he loved, and wrote scathing reviews of what he saw as the overblown, pretentious San Francisco scene. As a critic, Landau wrote for ''

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 ...

'' from its first issue and for other publications. In Volume 1, Number 1 of ''Rolling Stone'', published on November 9, 1967, Landau compared

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 ...

and his debut album, '' Are You Experienced'', to

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

's debut album, '' Fresh Cream'' (both released months before, and both Hendrix and Cream having made huge American splashes as live performers that summer). The next few issues saw Landau staking out more traditional R&B and soul territory with profiles of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

, and Sam and Dave, plus a posthumous

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

appreciation.

Bruce Springsteen connection

Landau's 1974 article in '' The Real Paper'', Writing ahead of a weekly newspaper's May 22, 1974 publication date: "I'm 27 today...." wherein he claimed, "I saw rock and roll's future and its name is

!," is credited by Nick Hornby with fostering Springsteen's popularity. Landau was then hired by Springsteen, and is cited as co-producer on Springsteen studio records from 1975's '' Born to Run'' through 1992's '' Human Touch'' and '' Lucky Town''. Landau is considered to have influenced Springsteen artistically as well as professionally. In January 2024, it was announced that a film based on the making of Springsteen's 1982 album ''

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

'' was being made with Springsteen and Landau involved along with Scott Cooper serving as the director and writer. The film, which will be titled '' Deliver Me from Nowhere'' and will be based on the 2023 book written by Warren Zanes, will be produced by former

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

FIlms chairman Scott Stuber for A24. Actor Jeremy Allen White will play Springsteen and Jeremy Strong will play Landau.

Other music projects

Other artists that Landau has managed or produced include

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

, Livingston Taylor,

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first seven albums before ...

Alejandro Escovedo Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

, and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

. Landau has been responsible for the liner notes for ''The Atlantic Albums Collection'' by

(2015), ''Soul Manifesto: 1964–1970'' by

(2015), and ''The Complete Atlantic Albums Collection'' by

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

(2017).

Personal life

Landau was once married to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' film critic (and later book reviewer) Janet Maslin. He later married Barbara Downey, a former ''Rolling Stone'' editor. They have two grown children. Landau and his wife own an art collection that includes work by Titian, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Donatello, Ghiberti, Géricault, Delacroix, and Corot. He also owns one of the largest private collections of Courbet. With the exception of his family and his work, the collection, featuring Italian painting and sculpture of the 13th through 17th centuries and mid-19th-century French romantic realist painting, is reportedly Landau's greatest interest in life. In 2011, Landau had a growth in his brain surgically removed. The surgery resulted in the loss of sight in one eye.Remnick, David. ''The New Yorker''
"We Are Alive,"
July 30, 2012.

References

External links

All Music.com Profile
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Blog on Huffington Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landau, Jon 1947 births Living people American music critics American music managers Record producers from New York (state) Record producers from Massachusetts Brandeis University alumni Bruce Springsteen People from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Writers from Lexington, Massachusetts Rock critics Rolling Stone people