Jaan Uhelszki
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jaan Uhelszki ( ) is an American music journalist and co-founder of the music magazine ''
Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...
'' where she became one of the first women to work in rock journalism. She is a founding editor of
Addicted to Noise ''Addicted to Noise'' (ATN) was an online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 by ex-''Rolling Stone'' associate editor and senior writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it published its fir ...
and writer-at-large for print and online music and news publications. She writes, produces and is featured in music documentaries and is editor-at-large for ''Creem'', relaunched in 2022.


Early influences

Uhelszki grew up in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, listening to Motown and FM rock radio, and worked as a "Coke Girl" selling sodas at the
Grande Ballroom The Grande Ballroom ( ') is a historic live music venue located at 8952 Grand River Avenue in the Petosky-Otsego neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. The building was designed by Detroit engineer and architect Charles N. Agree in 1928 and origin ...
, which allowed her access to early shows featuring
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
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 process ...
,
The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
, the
MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...
, and
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
.Robinson, Charlotte. (August 10, 2002) "Rock, She Writes (Part Two) – Jaan Uhelszki thrives as a Pioneer Rock & Roll Journalist," ''Venus Zine''. She started reading '' The East Village Other'' and ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' after a trip to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
when she was fifteen. Articles by
Nik Cohn Nik Cohn, also written Nick Cohn (born 1946), is a British writer. Life and career Cohn was born in London, England and brought up in Derry in Northern Ireland, the son of historian Norman Cohn and Russian writer Vera Broido. An incomer to the ...
and Michael Thomas inspired her to become a rock critic herself.Woods, Scott. (August 10, 2002
"Jaan Uhelszki – Confessions of a Former Subscription Kid,"
''Rock Critics Archives''. Retrieved on August 25, 2010.


Writing career

As a teen studying journalism at Wayne State University, Uhelszki sold T-shirts for the ''Creem'' subscription department in 1970. Editor
Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
assigned her to cover Smokey Robinson's retirement from The Miracles press conference. She wrote the piece as an open letter to Robinson, begging him not to leave the music industry. The resulting article, her first, was a 1972 ''Creem'' cover story.Uhelszki, Jaan. April, 1972. "Jaan Uhelszki – An Open Letter to Smokey Robinson," Rockcritics.com archives (original publisher: ''Creem'')Rubin, Mike. August 3, 2020
"The Wild Story of ''Creem'', Once ‘America’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll Magazine’,"
''The New York Times''. New York, New York. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
She wrote movie columns and feature-length profiles, eventually becoming a senior editor while working alongside fellow writer
Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music c ...
. ''Creem'' at the time employed what was considered a “dream team” of rock writers, including Uhelszki, Bangs, Marsh, Ben Edmonds, and Roberta Cruger. Uhelszki has described the insular experience of working on a monthly music magazine as “like living on Donkey Island from Pinocchio--only we looked entirely normal.”


Articles of note for ''Creem''

Uhelszki's feature article "I Dreamed I Was Onstage with KISS in My Maidenform Bra" documents the night she performed in full costume and makeup with the band
KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
—the only rock journalist ever to do so. Of proposing the story about performing with KISS, she pointed out:
''A man couldn't have done that story. He wouldn't have got the access. Being an underestimated under-gender I got away with things my male counterparts couldn't.''
The KISS experience, which started out as a joke, would go on to influence the rest of her writing career. Performing in full makeup and costume in front of 6,000 people, Uhelszki noted:
''I think that experience has impacted everything I've written afterward because I know what it's like to live, if only for five minutes, on the other side. It was an amazing thing for me. I definitely have much more empathy and much more of an understanding of musicians and that thrill, and how hard it is to give up that surge of power you get every night. You understand what it was like to stand in front of people.''
She traveled with
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
for a feature article about their second-to-last tour, and was captivated by the late Ronnie Van Zant's spirit, although he told her that he didn't expect to live to see thirty. He would die in a plane crash a year and a half later. She was able to get a hard-won interview with Jimmy Page, but only after touring with
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
for a week and with Page's publicist serving as an “interpreter” asking Uhelszki's questions while Page sat in the same room with them. In 1976 she left ''Creem'' and moved to Los Angeles to work for ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'' magazine. She would go on to become founding news editor of online magazine
Addicted to Noise ''Addicted to Noise'' (ATN) was an online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 by ex-''Rolling Stone'' associate editor and senior writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it published its fir ...
before heading up Microsoft Music Central's news department.


Current work

Uhelszki has been a contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'' Online. She was senior editor at ''Harp'' from 2002 to 2008, and presently works as ''Relix's'' editor-at-large besides being a regular contributor to UK music magazines ''Uncut'' and ''Classic Rock''. Uhelszki's features have been published in ''
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', ''The Village Voice'', ''Spin'', ''Mojo'', ''Alternative Press'', ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
'', and the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''. She has interviewed and profiled, among others,
Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
,
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
,
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
,
Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...
,
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
, and
Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
. Uhelszki is consulting editor emeritus of ''Creem'', relaunched as an online and print publication in 2022.


Media work

Uhelszki writes liner notes for Sony Legacy Recordings,
Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
, and Time-Life. She has written essays for
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
inductees
The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...
,
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
,
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...
, and
The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...
. Uhelszki regularly appears as a music authority on VH1's “Behind the Music” series, as well as on radio shows and at industry panels and workshops, where she works as a media trainer. Uhelszki appears in the 2012 documentary, '' Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me'', directed by Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori. In the film, she discusses the first and only Rock Writer's Convention that occurred in 1972 in Memphis, Tennessee, where Big Star performed for a gathering of top rock critics from throughout the U.S. Uhelszki calls the Big Star performance a "seminal experience." Uhelszki co-wrote and co-produced the 2019 documentary ''Creem: America’s Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine''. Directed by Scott Crawford, the film chronicles the formation and turbulent history of ''Creem'' and how its writers and editors impacted the American music scene throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.


Personal life

She lives with her husband,
Matthew King Kaufman Matthew "King" Kaufman (born May 19, 1946) is an American record producer who was the owner of leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonath ...
, founder of
Beserkley Records Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Greg ...
, in Palm Desert, California.


Awards and accolades

* As head of the news department at ''Addicted to Noise'', Uhelszki won Online Journalist of the Year and the National Feature Writer Award from the Music Journalists Association, 1996. * Uhelszki is listed in Flavorwire's ''33 Women Music Critics You Need to Read'', 2011.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhelszki, Jaan Living people American editors American women editors American music critics American women music critics American music journalists American women journalists American women writers Writers from Detroit Year of birth missing (living people)