Michael Erlewine

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Michael Erlewine

Michael Erlewine (born July 18, 1941 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, astrologer, and internet entrepreneur who founded the All Music Guide in 1991.

Erlewine has had several careers. As a musician, he was active in the Michigan folk scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961 he hitchhiked with Bob Dylan, and had traveled to Greenwich Village, Venice West, and San Francisco.^[1] He and his brother Dan founded a blues band called the Prime Movers, which regularly played Chicago; other members included Gene Tyranny (Robert Sheff), and when the drummer left, they replaced him with Iggy Pop (James Osterberg), then 18. It was the Prime Movers who gave him the nickname "Iggy", because he had played in the band the Iguanas. According to biographer Jim Ambrose, the two years Osterberg spent in the band made him aware of "art, politics, and experimentation".^[1]

Later, Erlewine was active in astrology and, according to a history of modern astrology, "a pioneer in astrological software."^[2] who founded Matrix Software in 1978. He sold the company to Alliance Entertainment in 1996, and it remains a leader in the field. Erlewine and his wife Margaret established The Heart Center Astrological Library, the largest astrological library in the U.S. open to the general public^{[citation needed]}, which contains many historical rare books and out-of-print periodicals. He also produced and marketed a variety of professional astrological conferences, and with astrologer Charles A. Jayne, introduced "ACT: Astrological Conferences on Techniques", a series of panel discussions on current astrological topics. He has been active in professional organizations including the American Federation of Astrologers, UAC (United Astrology Congress), Professional Astrologers, Incorporated, NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic Research), and others.

In the 1990s, Erlewine founded the All Music Guide (allmusic.com), the All Movie Guide (allmovie.com), and the All Game Guide (allgame.com). The first site in particular has become an important popular music reference that licenses its content to numerous other websites.

Today Erlewine lives in Big Rapids, Michigan, with his wife. They have four children. He is the uncle of AMG critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

[edit] Books

Manual of Computer Programming for Astrologers (Tempe, Az.: A.F.A., Inc., 1980),
Astrophysical Directions (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Heart Center, 1977), with Margaret Erlewine (a fixed star catalog)
The Sun is Shining: Helio 1653-2050, on heliocentric astrology (with ephemeris)
Interface: Planetary Nodes

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Jim Ambrose (2004). Gimme Danger: The Story of Iggy Pop.
^ James Holden (1996). A History of Horoscopic Astrology. American Federation of Astrologers. ISBN 0-86690-463-8.