Timothy White, who has died of a heart attack, aged 50, was the author of one of the biggest-selling rock biographies of all time, the definitive Catch A Fire: The Life Of Bob Marley (1983). As well as writing biographies, columns, more Rolling Stone cover stories than any other writer, and hosting a syndicated US radio show for the past 12 years, he was also the editor of Billboard, the American music industry's principal trade paper.
In a profession not generally known for its sartorial elegance, he cut a stylish figure, invariably wearing a polka-dot bow tie. At Billboard, he turned a dry, industry-dominated trade journal into a readable, music-orientated and campaigning magazine. He introduced the annual Billboard century award for creative achievement; Continental Drift, a column devoted to unsigned acts; and Heatseekers, a column on acts that have never appeared in the top half of the Billboard 200. His Music To My Ears column championed little-known artists and styles of music, and he campaigned for artists' rights.
He was unafraid to tackle the issues of misogyny and homophobia in rap lyrics, and he even took a stance on gun control, banning adverts with artwork that featured weapons.
White loved history. In his music biographies, the subject did not appear until at least a quarter of the way into the tale. Long Ago And Far Away: James Taylor, His Life And Music (2001) opens in 1622 with the story of Taylor's Scottish ancestor Hercules Tailyeour, a shipbuilder from Montrose. The first part of The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, And The Southern California Experience (1994), are a history of the state and of surfing. Rigorous research is not always apparent in music biographies, but White's attention to detail earned him many admirers.
Born in Patterson, New Jersey, he was one of seven children in an Irish family and left Fordham University, New York, with a degree in journalism in 1972.
His first job was as a copy boy at Associated Press, and he graduated to writing about sports and entertainment. He worked for the rock magazine Crawdaddy before joining Rolling Stone.
His profiles of Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Muhammad Ali - and numerous rock performers - are benchmarks of magazine journalism, but like many of its writers, he left Rolling Stone after coming into conflict with its autocratic founder Jan Wenner.
Catch A Fire followed and, after writing for Musician magazine, he joined Billboard as editor in 1990.
White's obituary of George Harrison, a close friend, earned him his fourth ASCAP-Deems Taylor award for journalism. He donated all his Catch A Fire royalties to Amnesty International, and discouraged publishers from overly promoting subsequent editions.
"Surely, the market can stand one Bob Marley-related offering that expands its audience without endless, vulgar fanfare," he wrote to me, "so some day we can bounce our grandchildren on our knees and tell them that money doesn't justify everything."
His other works include Rock Lives (1990), which collects many of his interviews. There are others in The Entertainers (1998). Music To My Ears: The Billboard Essays, 1992-1996, was published in 1996.
White was last in London in May, when he discussed his idea for a biography of Eric Clapton and George Harrison, tracing their intermingling lives.
He is survived by his wife Judy, a graphic designer, and their twin sons.
Timothy White, born 1952; died July 2002