Ed Ward (writer)

Ed Ward (January 2005)

Edmund Ward(November 2, 1948 – May 3, 2021) was an American writer and radio commentator, the "rock-and-roll historian" forNPR's programFresh Airfrom 1987 to 2017and one of the original founders ofAustin'sSouth by Southwestmusic festival.

Ward grew up inEastchester,New York. He attendedAntioch Collegeand began his music-writing career in 1965.

He was on the staff ofCrawdaddy!(1967),Rolling Stone(1970), andCreem(1971–1977) magazines and of theAustin American-StatesmanandThe Austin Chronicle(where he was honored as part of their annual "Restaurant Poll", lending his name to their "Ed Ward Memorial Sandwich" award).Ward wrote several books on the history of rock-and-roll and has contributed content, withRashod Ollison,for thePBSwebsite for the documentary seriesGet Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop and Protest.In addition to his music history lessons on NPR'sFresh Airhe contributed toThe New York Times,The Wall Street Journal,and various music magazines. Ward was the original co-host of the"Let It Roll" podcastand appeared on 24 episodes of the series.

Ward lived inBerlin,Germanybetween 1993 and 2008, when he moved to Montpellier, France. In 2013 he repatriated and was living in Austin, Texas, at the time of his death.

Works

• Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll(1983), withGeoffrey StokesandKen Tucker
• Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero(1983)
• The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 1: 1920-1963(2016)
• The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977(2019)

External links

• Ed Ward's blog
• History of Rock and Roll reviewed by Paste magazine