Michael Erlewine (born
July 18, 1941 in
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania
) is an American
musician, astrologer, and
internet entrepreneur who founded All Music Guide (now
known as allmusic) in 1991.
Background
Erlewine has had several careers.
As a musician, he was active in the
Michigan
folk scene
in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961 he hitchhiked
with Bob Dylan, and had traveled to
Greenwich
Village
, Venice
(California
) and San Francisco
. He and his brother Dan founded a blues band
called the Prime Movers, which
regularly played Chicago
; other
members included Gene Tyranny (Robert
Sheff), and when the drummer left, they replaced him with Iggy Pop (James Osterberg), then 18. It was
the Prime Movers who gave him the nickname "Iggy", because he had
played in the band
the
Iguanas. According to biographer Jim Ambrose, the two years
Osterberg spent in the band made him aware of "art, politics, and
experimentation".
Astrology
Later, Erlewine was active in
astrology
and, according to a history of modern astrology, "a pioneer in
astrological software." who founded Matrix Software in 1978. He
sold the company to Alliance Entertainment in 1996, and it remains
a leader in the field. Erlewine and his wife Margaret established
The Heart Center Astrological Library, the largest astrological
library in the U.S. open to the general public , which contains
many historical rare books and out-of-print periodicals. He also
produced and marketed a variety of professional astrological
conferences, and with astrologer Charles A. Jayne, introduced "ACT:
Astrological Conferences on Techniques", a series of panel
discussions on current astrological topics. He has been active in
professional organizations including the American Federation of
Astrologers, UAC (United Astrology Congress), Professional
Astrologers, Incorporated, NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic
Research), and others.
In the 1990s, Erlewine founded the All Music Guide (allmusic.com),
the All Movie Guide (allmovie.com), and the All Game Guide
(allgame.com). The first site in particular has become an important
popular music reference that licenses
its content to numerous other websites. Erlewine regained control
of Matrix Software in November 2008 and continues as director of
that company.
Today
Erlewine lives in Big Rapids, Michigan
, with his wife. They have four children. He
is the uncle of AMG critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
Books
References
External links
Wikis
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