Jon Landau | |
|---|---|
 Landau at the2024 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1947-05-14)May 14, 1947 (age 78) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations | Record producer, music critic |
| Spouse(s) | Janet Maslin Barbara Downey |
| Children | 2 |
Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947)[1] is an Americanmusic critic,manager, andrecord producer. He is most known for his work withBruce Springsteen. He is the head of the nominating committee for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,[2] and received that institution'sAhmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2020.[3]
Born inNew York City to aJewish family, Landau grew up inBensonhurst, Brooklyn, and then inQueens before his family moved to theBoston suburb ofLexington, Massachusetts, when he was 12.[4] He attendedLexington High School and thenBrandeis University, where he earned a degree in history with honors.[5]
Aligning himself with the growingunderground culture of late-1960s Boston, Landau carved out a niche while writing for the music magazineCrawdaddy. A failed performer who remained a passionate, devoted fan, Landau championed the straightforwardrock and roll that he loved, and wrote scathing reviews of what he saw as the overblown, pretentiousSan Francisco scene.[6]
As a critic, Landau wrote forRolling Stone and for other publications. In Volume 1, Number 1 ofRolling Stone, published on November 9, 1967,[7] Landau compared the debut albums ofJimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced) andEric Clapton andCream (Fresh Cream), both of whose tours had made huge splashes that summer. In the next few issues, Landau staked out more traditional R&B and soul territory with profiles ofAretha Franklin,[8] andSam and Dave,[9] plus a posthumous appreciation ofOtis Redding.
Landau's 1974 article inThe Real Paper,[1] wherein he claimed, "I saw rock and roll's future and its name isBruce Springsteen!," is credited byNick Hornby with fostering Springsteen's popularity.[10] Landau was then hired by Springsteen, and is cited as co-producer on Springsteen studio records from 1975'sBorn to Run through 1992'sHuman Touch andLucky Town. Landau is considered to have influenced Springsteen artistically[11] as well as professionally.
In January 2024, it was announced that director and writerScott Cooper would make a film based on the making of Springsteen's 1982 albumNebraska with involvement by Springsteen and Landau.[12] The film,Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, is based on the 2023 book byWarren Zanes and produced by formerNetflix Films chairmanScott Stuber forA24. ActorJeremy Allen White plays Springsteen[13] andJeremy Strong plays Landau.[14] It was later announced that20th Century Studios had acquired the film in a bidding war with A24, joining the project as financier and distributor.[15][16] The film was released in 2025.
Other artists that Landau has managed or produced includeMC5,Livingston Taylor,Jackson Browne,Natalie Merchant,Alejandro Escovedo,[17]Train,[18] andShania Twain.
Landau has been responsible for the liner notes forThe Atlantic Albums Collection byAretha Franklin (2015),Soul Manifesto: 1964–1970 byOtis Redding (2015), andThe Complete Atlantic Albums Collection byWilson Pickett (2017).
Landau was once married toThe New York Times film critic (and later book reviewer)Janet Maslin. He later married Barbara Downey, a formerRolling Stone editor. They have two grown children. In 2011, Landau had a growth in his brain surgically removed. The surgery resulted in the loss of sight in one eye.[19]
Jon endowed a fine arts scholarship atBrandeis University in 1997.[20] He received an honorary degree from Brandeis in 2019. He emphasized the importance of art in his speech: "I believe art is life," Landau said. "And, without art, there is no life. So let's all of us carry on – creating, seeking, searching and making art a part of our lives. It's art that brings out the human in all of us."[21]
Landau and his wife Barbara own an art collection described by theBoston Globe as "the envy of the most serious and committed collectors."[22] It includes works from Renaissance and Baroque artists such as paintings byTitian,Tintoretto, andTiepolo; and sculptures byDonatello,Ghiberti,Verrocchio, della Robbia, and Pietro andGian Lorenzo Bernini. It also includes works by theOld Masters: Italian painting and sculpture from the 13th through 17th centuries. The 19th-century Realist,Romantic, andBarbizon movements are represented by works fromGéricault,Delacroix,Corot, and one of the largest private holdings ofCourbet, with fifteen works (which took 20 years to amass), and English paintings.[23][24][25]
With the exceptions of his family and work, collecting is reportedly Landau's greatest interest in life. He declared that if he went back to school, "I would study Renaissance art."[24] Landau discussed his art collection on a panel at the Clark Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 2016.[26][27] He also served on aSotheby's panel called "Collecting Masters: The Auction, Museum & Individual" in 2017.[28]
Works from the collection have been lent to leading museums, includingThe Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, thePrado in Madrid, theLouvre in Paris, and theNational Gallery in London.[20] The couple has donated works to museums, including aPoussin to the Metropolitan, which they regard as "the greatest artistic institution in the country" and aBarocci sketch to theSt. Louis Art Museum in 2020.[29] They have promised aThéodore Rousseau landscape to the Metropolitan.[30]
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