Alfred Gilbert Aronowitz (May 20, 1928 – August 1, 2005) was an American rock journalist best known for introducing Bob Dylan to The Beatles in 1964.
Aronowitz was born in Bordentown, New Jersey.[1] A 1950 graduate of Rutgers University, Aronowitz became a journalist in the 1950s and his work in that decade included a 12-part series on the Beat Generation for the New York Post.[1]
Aronowitz was the original manager of The Velvet Underground, getting the band their first gig in the auditorium of the high school in Summit, New Jersey. The Velvet Underground stole Aronowitz's tape recorder and dumped him weeks later when they met Andy Warhol.[2]
Aronowitz introduced Bob Dylan to the Beatles in a New York City hotel room on August 28, 1964. According to his own journal entries, at this meeting he brought a marijuana joint which would be the first pot smoked by the Beatles.[1]
Aronowitz also claimed that Dylan wrote the song "Mr. Tambourine Man" while staying in Aronowitz's Berkeley Heights, New Jersey home.[3]
He died of cancer in Elizabeth, New Jersey on August 1, 2005, at the age of 77.[1] Aronowitz's son Myles is a photographer, often credited as the still photographer on feature film productions.[4][5]
Aronowitz's daughter, Brett, is a graphic designer, writer and illustrator.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d Sisario, Ben. "Al Aronowitz, 77, a Pioneer Of Rock 'n' Roll Journalism", The New York Times, August 4, 2005. Accessed February 27, 2011.
- ^ McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (1996). Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. New York, NY: Grove Press. pp. 5-7. ISBN 978 0 8021 2536 1.
- ^ Miller, Stephen. "Al Aronowitz, 77, a Writer Of 1960s Scene", The New York Sun, August 4, 2005. "Aronowitz claimed that Mr. Dylan composed "Mr. Tambourine Man" during a long night of repeated listenings to Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness" at Aronowitz's home in Berkeley Heights, N.J."
- ^ [1] Myles Aronowitz Photography
- ^ [2] IMDB
- ^ [3] Brett Aronowitz
External links
- The Blacklisted Journalist
- CNN obituary
- "The Go-Between" by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, December 3, 2004
- "The Rock Journalist At a High Point In Music History" by David Segal, The Washington Post, August 3, 2005
- Al Aronowitz on the Poets' Corner.
- "The Man Who Invented The Sixties" by Gary Pig Gold, Cosmik Debris, October, 2004