BOB DYLAN - ROCK CRITIC PAUL NELSON DIES

PAUL NELSON, a pioneering rock critic whose interest in folk music led to an early connection with musician BOB DYLAN, has died. He was 70. Nelson was found dead at his New York City apartment on 4 July (06) from heart disease. An editor and reviewer for Rolling Stone, Circus and Creem music magazines in the 1960s and 1970s, Nelson started the Little Sandy Review folk music journal while he and Dylan were students at the University of Minnesota in the early 1960s. Nelson was known for his eclectic musical tastes as evidenced by him boldly signing on early punk rock band the NEW YORK DOLLS when he worked for Mercury Records in the 1970s. At Circus and then Rolling Stone, Nelson wrote and edited stories about a variety of music styles. As record reviews editor at Rolling Stone, he championed the albums of JACKSON BROWNE, as well as punk rockers the SEX PISTOLS and the RAMONES. Nelson eventually left the music business in the late 1980s, working at Evergreen Video in Greenwich Village until last summer (05).