Paul Nelson

I belong to a very nice, independent video store, Evergreen, which is around the corner from my house. Most of the staff there are young and pretty hip, clearly hoping to do something bigger in the film industry than rent DVDs. But, unlike many a NYC video store, they never snear when you rent a Hollywood blockbuster or a whole season of a t.v. show. Among the young friendly hipsters, there was an older, craggy man, kind of grumpy but always helpful. Once, I overheard one of the other clerks telling a customer the older man was a once-famous rock critic named Paul Nelson who was instrumental in Bob Dylan's early career. Sure enough, when Martin Scorsese's Dylan documentary came out last fall, there was the man from the video store being interviewed. I hadn't seen him in a while, and I was sad to see in the New York Times today that he had passed away. His obituary provides a fascinating glimpse in a small but important part of music history.