Jon Landau

Who is Jon Landau?

Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, best known for working with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Landau grew up in the Boston suburbs and earned a degree in History from Brandeis University with honors.

As a critic, Landau wrote for Rolling Stone from its first issue and for other publications. In Volume 1, Number 1 of Rolling Stone, published on 9 November 1967, Landau compared Jimi Hendrix and his debut album, Are You Experienced, to Eric Clapton and Cream's debut album, Fresh Cream. The next few issues saw Landau staking out more traditional R&B and soul territory with profiles of Aretha Franklin, and Sam and Dave, plus a posthumous Otis Redding appreciation.

Landau's prophetic 1974 article in The Real Paper, wherein he famously claimed, "I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen," is credited by Nick Hornby and others with fostering Springsteen's popularity. Landau was then hired by Springsteen, and is cited as co-producer on Springsteen studio records from 1975's Born to Run through 1992's Human Touch and Lucky Town.