Timothy White, influential editor in chief of the music trade publication Billboard, died after suffering an apparent heart attack at his office on Thursday. He was 50.
White was a veteran music journalist who spent several years at Rolling Stone magazine, wrote an acclaimed, best-selling biography of Bob Marley, and also had his own syndicated radio series.
White got his start as a reporter for The Associated Press.
According to Billboard, he apparently suffered a heart attack after returning from lunch with a longtime friend. He was rushed from his Manhattan office to a New York hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Anthony DeCurtis, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, said White redefined Billboard during his 11 years as its editor by implementing colorful writing and accurate chart data.
"Billboard was pretty boring. It was kind of an industry magazine that you kind of forced yourself to look at," said DeCurtis. "But Tim really made it a magazine."
White's column, "Music to My Ears," spotlighted the issues and artists he felt were important and was a must-read in the industry. The weekly column featured a portrait of White in his trademark bow-tie.
"Tim was a colorful guy," said DeCurtis. "(There was) a kind of old-time eccentric journalist thing about him."
White was the author of 1998's "Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley" and last year's "James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away." He had also been a senior editor at Rolling Stone.
He is survived by his wife, Judy, and their 10-year-old twin sons, Christopher and Alexander.
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