Crawdaddy’s Early Catalogue Now Up for Grabs

A spearhead in boot-strapping rock criticism, propelling it out of the fan-club gutters and into a respectable form, Crawdaddy! magazine wrote the manual for latter print giants like Creem and Rolling Stone.

A spearhead in boot-strapping rock criticism, propelling it out of the fan-club gutters and into a respectable form, Crawdaddy! magazine wrote the manual for latter print giants like Creem and Rolling Stone. Born in ’66 from the college desk of 17-year-old Paul Williams, the grassroots pub featured foundational writers like Jon Landau, Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer, and even boasts the first profile of rock icon Bruce Springsteen in its March, ’73 issue. With an on-and-off circulation through the decades, its recent purchase by Wolfgang’s Vault—a cache of live recordings and vintage memorabilia—has allowed the mag a much-needed revival. 

As part of that effort, Crawdaddy! has posted its first 19 issues pro-bono on its website, dating from its premiere cut-and-paste fanzine in Februrary ’66 to its more polished editions in late ’68. Ranging from quick-hit reviews of 45s like Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” to an in-depth analysis of Bob Dylan, Williams’ labor of love can now be read cover to cover, blemishes in-tact and groundbreaking in substance.