Charles Shaar Murray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Shaar Murray (born 1951) is an English music journalist.
His first experience came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz. In particular, he contributed to the notorious Schoolkids OZ issue, and was involved in the consequent obscenity trial.
He then wrote for IT (International Times) before decamping to the New Musical Express in 1972 for which he wrote for the next 13 years. After that he worked for a number of publications including Q magazine, Mojo, MacUser and The Independent.
In addition to his magazine work, Murray has written a number of books:
- Shots From The Hip, ISBN 0-14-012341-5, selected writings from his first two decades as a journalist
- Blues on CD: The Essential Guide, (1993), ISBN 1-85626-084-4
- Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-War Pop, a musical biography of Jimi Hendrix, ISBN 0-571-20749-9. This won the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award.
- Boogie Man: Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American 20th Century, a biography of John Lee Hooker, ISBN 0-14-016890-7. This was shortlisted for the Gleason award.
- Dancing in the Street: Rock and Roll History, written to accompany a BBC documentary of the same name, ISBN 0-563-36996-5
