Nick Tosches, the revered music journalist and biographer, has died. He was 69 years old, according to The New York Times. Though the cause of death has not been determined, Tosches had reportedly been ill.
Tosches began his career in the late 1960s, alongside critics such as Lester Bangs and Richard Meltzer. The three iconic rock writers would later be labeled “the Noise Boys” for their adventurous, visceral styles. The name was reportedly coined by journalist James Wolcott.
In addition to his journalistic pursuits, Tosches published 15 books in his lifetime, including novels and biographies. He is perhaps best known for Hellfire, his 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as 1992’s Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams, which chronicled the life of Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin.
Throughout his decades-long career, Tosches wrote for Rolling Stone, Creem, and countless other publications. In the mid-90s, he became a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. Tosches most recent work was his 2015 novel Under Tiberius.