John Kruth is the author of three musical biographies to date including Bright Moments – The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (2000 – Welcome Rain), To Live’s To Fly – The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt (recipient of the ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award – 2007 – DaCapo Press), and Rhapsody in Black – The Life & Music of Roy Orbison (2013 – BackBeat/Hal Leonard Books). This Bird Has Flown – The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul 50 Years On – a history and analysis of the Beatles’ 6th ground-breaking album, was published in November 2015 by BackBeat/Hal Leonard Books. A Friend of the Devil – the Glorification of the Outlaw in Song from Robin Hood to Rap was published in September of 2017. John’s most recent book – Hold On World – The Lasting Impact of the Plastic Ono Band is forthcoming from Rowman & Littlefield in April, 2021.
As a music journalist Kruth’s articles have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Please Kill Me, Wax Poetics, No Depression, Wire (UK), Sing Out!, American Songwriter, Folk Roots (UK), Rave (India) and So Jazz (Switzerland).
For twelve years John taught the History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, History of Jazz and Introduction to World Music as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York.
With ten solo albums to his credit John Kruth is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who plays mandolin, guitar, banjo, flute, harmonica and sitar. John lead the now defunct nine-piece New York based world music ensemble TriBeCaStan, who have recorded seven albums. As a sideman Kruth has performed and collaborated with a wide-variety of musicians including Laurie Anderson, Violent Femmes, John Prine, King Missile, Hal Willner, Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg, Elizabeth Swados, Sam Shepard and Ornette Coleman.