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Michael Erlewine | |
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 Erlewine in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | John Michael Erlewine (1941-07-18)July 18, 1941 (age 84) Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Origin | Michigan |
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| Instruments | Vocals, harmonica |
| Years active | late 1950s–2000s |
| Formerly of | The Prime Movers |
John Michael Erlewine (/ˈɜːrlwaɪn/; born July 18, 1941) is an American musician,astrologer, TV host, photographer, publisher, and Internet entrepreneur who founded the music online database siteAllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide) in 1991.
Erlewine was born inLancaster, Pennsylvania, he has had several careers. As a musician, he was active in theMichiganfolk music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961, hehitchhiked withBob Dylan, and traveled toGreenwich Village inLower Manhattan, New York;Venice, aLos Angeles neighborhood; andSan Francisco.[1]
Erlewine, along with his younger brotherDan began ablues band calledthe Prime Movers, which regularly played inChicago; other members included"Blue" Gene Tyranny (Robert Sheff). When the drummer left, the band replaced him withIggy Pop (James Osterberg), then 18 years old. The Prime Movers gave him the nickname "Iggy" as he had played in the bandThe Iguanas.[2] According to biographer Jim Ambrose, the two years Osterberg which was in the band made him aware of "art, politics, and experimentation."[1]
In 1977, Erlewine founded Matrix Software. He was the first person to program astrology on microcomputers and make astrological programs available to the astrological community.[3] He has published more than forty books on astrology and related topics.
Michael Erlewine and his band, the Prime Movers, were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2015.[4]
Erlewine and his wife have four children including musicianMay Erlewine. He is the uncle of music criticStephen Thomas Erlewine.[5]
In the 1990s, Erlewine founded theAll Music Guide (allmusic.com), theAll Movie Guide (allmovie.com), and theAll Game Guide (allgame.com). The first site in particular has become an important popular music reference which licenses its content to numerous other websites. Erlewine regained control of Matrix Software (astrologysoftware.com) in November 2008 and is the director of the company.
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