Tosches was born in
Newark, New Jersey, on October 23, 1949. His grandfather emigrated from
Italy to
New York City in the late 19th century. His grandparents were
Arbëreshë from
Casalvecchio di Puglia in
Apulia. According to his own account, Tosches "barely finished high school". and later, in the early 1970s, as a snake hunter for the
Miami Serpentarium, in Florida. A fan of early
rock and roll and "oddball" records, He was also reviews editor for
Country Music magazine
. He has been described as "the best example of a good rock journalist who set out to transcend his genre and succeeded," He was fired by
Rolling Stone for collaborating with Meltzer in filing record reviews under each other's
byline. He described his literary influences as "
Hesiod,
Sappho,
Christopher Marlowe,
Ezra Pound,
William Faulkner,
Charles Olson, and God knows who else." Tosches died on October 20, 2019, at his home in Manhattan, three days before his 70th birthday.
Influence and admiration Actor
Johnny Depp has stated that he is fan of the author. "I always feel really lucky after I've read one of Tosches's books because it's like you've had this experience with him. And it's funny because hanging out with him is very much like being in one of his books." Depp's enthusiasm for Tosches's works even goes so far that he bought his literary estate for 1.2 million dollars. ==Bibliography==