Bruce Springsteen mourns biographer Dave Marsh, who has died at 76

Bruce Springsteen is mourning Dave Marsh, the rock critic and biographer who wrote the first book about him, after Marsh died August 14 at his Connecticut home at age 76. "Here on E Street, the irreplaceable loss of Dave Marsh has us heartbroken," Springsteen wrote, calling the Detroit native "a true rock'n'roll lifer."

Marsh built his reputation during the early years of the rock press, writing for Creem before moving to Rolling Stone through the 1970s. His 1979 book Born To Run was the first biography of Bruce Springsteen, and Springsteen said Marsh's early support "meant the world to me." Marsh also wrote Before I Get Old, a major biography of The Who, after Pete Townshend invited him to London to research the band's mod-era roots, along with books on Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly & The Family Stone, and the singles anthology The Heart of Rock & Soul.

Marsh's ties to Springsteen ran deeper than the books; he was married to Barbara Carr, Springsteen's longtime manager, and later became a frequent contributor to the Springsteen-focused SiriusXM station E Street Radio. E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt remembered him as "fearless, relentless, arrogant, everything you'd want in a rock'n'roll troublemaker," and singled out Marsh's book Louie Louie as a work that "captured an essential untold part of rock history."

After Carr's daughter Kristen Ann died of cancer in 1991 at age 21, Marsh and Carr founded the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, which has since raised millions of dollars for cancer research. News of Marsh's death was confirmed by Jim Rotolo, who hosts the Springsteen fan podcast The Wild & The Innocent on SiriusXM, and Patti Smith Band guitarist Lenny Kaye also paid tribute, writing that Marsh "always believed in the transformative power of rock'n'roll."

Marsh's death adds to a heavy stretch of loss in the rock world this month. Springsteen closed his own tribute simply, writing that he hoped Marsh was "receiving some of the grace, happiness and reward he's brought into my life."