Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.

Life and writing

Unterberger attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily Pennsylvanian'' and in the early 1980s was a deejay on the Penn radio station, WXPN-FM. Just prior to graduating in late 1982, he started reviewing records for '' Op'' magazine, which marked the start of his career as a freelance writer. From 1985 to 1991, Unterberger was an editor for '' Option''. Since 1993, he has been a prolific contributor to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, the on-line database of music biographies and album reviews, for which he has written thousands of entries, and many of his on-line contributions have been printed in the AllMusic guide series. Unterberger contributes to various local and national publications, including ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was founded in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ' ...

'', and '' No Depression''. He has written liner notes for dozens of CD reissues from labels like

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, Collectors' Choice, and Sundazed. Unterberger's books draw extensively on first-hand interviews with musicians and their associates.

Travel writing; public speaking

Unterberger has given talks on music and popular culture at public libraries in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Mateo County, California. He is also a speaker at area bookstores, including The Booksmith in the

Haight Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight Street, Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of th ...

neighborhood of San Francisco. Unterberger has also written on travel, including ''The Rough Guide to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

'' (1996), and co-authored ''The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience'' (2007), a book about ethical products, investment, and related topics. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and is an advocate of independent travel and alternative culture.

Family

His nephew, Andrew, formerly wrote for Stylusmagazine.com, and in 2007 was part of the winning team on VH1's ''World Series of Pop Culture''. He has been a staff writer or featured contributor on music and sports blogs.

Selected publications

His books include: * 1998: ''Unknown Legends of Rock'n'Roll''. Profiles of 60 underappreciated cult rock artists of all styles and eras * 1999: ''The Rough Guide to Music USA''. A guidebook to the evolution of regional popular music throughout America in the twentieth century * 2000: ''Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock''. Another look at underappreciated cult rock artists * 2002: ''Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution''. The first part of a history of

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

* 2003: ''Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock''. The second part of a history of folk rock * 2006: ''The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film''. An illustrated 400-page guide to music that the

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

recorded but did not release, as well as musical footage of the group that has not been made commercially available (winner of a 2007 Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the

Association for Recorded Sound Collections Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

) * 2009: ''White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-by-Day'' * 2009: ''The Rough Guide to

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 ...

'' * 2011: ''Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia'' * 2014: ''Jingle Jangle Morning: Folk-Rock in the 1960s''. Turn! Turn! Turn! and Eight Miles High in one ebook. * 2016: ''Fleetwood Mac: The Ultimate Illustrated History'' * 2024: ''Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History'' (Voyageur / Quarto 2024-01-16)

References

External links

2002 interview with Unterberger

Richie Unterberger's Unknown Legends
at www.richieunterberger.com * Profile at Allmusic.com
Article about Richie Unterberger in the ''SF Weekly''
* The WELL interviews o

/

/

Book review: Fleetwood Mac: The Complete Illustrated History by Richie Unterberger / Rocker Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unterberger, Richie 1962 births Living people AllMusic people American male non-fiction writers American music critics American people of German descent American travel writers Rock critics