Charles R. Cross, the New York Times bestselling author who wrote Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain and Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix, died on Friday of natural causes, his family confirmed. He was 67.
“We are sorry to share that Charles Cross has passed. He died peacefully of natural causes in his sleep on August 9th, 2024,” the statement from his family reads. “We are all grief-stricken and trying to get through this difficult process of dealing with the next steps.”
“It’s impossible to imagine the music or community of Seattle in the Eighties and Nineties without Charles,” producer and former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla, wrote on X. “He influenced or enabled practically every story, relationship, and musicians wanted ad in the city for decades. I’m eternally grateful.”
Cross’ agent, Sarah Lazin told Variety that she had spoken to him the day before his death and “he seemed happy, vibrant, and excited about all that was happening. A brilliant and passionate author and loving dad. My heart goes out to his son Ashland and to us all. What a loss.”
One of the most respected music journalists and authors, Cross started his career at Seattle’s revered music magazine The Rocket in 1982 and served as editor from 1986 through 2000, witnessing firsthand the rise of grunge in the Pacific Northwest. He also founded Backstreets Magazine, a quarterly Bruce Springsteen fanzine that covered Springsteen and the E Street Band alongside other Jersey Shore musicians.
Cross’ first book sprung from the zine, which he first passed out for free at a Springsteen concert in Seattle in 1980. Backstreets: Springsteen, the Man and His Music arrived in 1989. He followed it up with 1991’s Led Zeppelin: Heaven and Hell, an illustrated history he co-authored with Erik Flannigan and featuring photographs by Neal Preston. Co-authored with Jim Berkenstadt, 1998’s Nirvana: Nevermind (Classic Rock Albums) offered a behind-the-scenes story on the making of the album. He authored nine books in total, including the Heart bio and New York Times bestseller Kicking and Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock & Roll and Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix, which Vibe magazine called one of the best music books ever written.
In 2001, Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain, landed on the New York Times bestseller list and won the 2002 ASCAP Award for Outstanding Biography. For the definitive biography, Cross worked on the book for four years and culled from more than 400 interviews. He also gained access to Cobain’s private journals, lyrics, and photos with widow Courtney Love’s blessing, though Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and Cobain’s mother were not included in the tome.
Cross contributed to a vast array of outlets, including Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Creem and numerous Seattle newspapers and magazines.
“He was as warm and gracious as he was a passionate and compelling writer,” music journalist Robert Hilburn wrote on X, adding that Heavier Than Heaven was “high on my short-list of best music biographies ever.”
