David McGee began his career as a music journalist/historian in 1974, with the music business trade publication Record World. In 1975 he was first published in Rolling Stone and was a regular RS contributor through 2000. From 1981 through 1985 he was the editor of Rolling Stone’s all-music monthly counterpart, Record Magazine. From January through April 1988 he was editorial consultant to Spin Magazine. His other freelance credits include articles and reviews for other music-oriented publications such as The Absolute Sound, Acoustic Guitar and BMI Music World. A published author, he has penned thee biographies: his first, devoted to rock and roll pioneer Carl Perkins, is titled Go, Cat, Go! The Life and Times of Carl Perkins, The King of Rockabilly, was published by Hyperion and relaeased in hard cover in 1996; it was a finalist for the Ralph J. Gleason Awards, the highest literary prize accorded music books in this country. His second and third books were part of a series he conceived titled Lives in Music; the first two books in the series, which was published by Backbeat Books before that company was purchased by Hal Leonard, are biographies of blues giant B.B. King (There Is Always One More Time) and country-rock avatar Steve Earle (Steve Earle: Fearless Heart, Outlaw Poet). He is currently collaborating with violinist/composer Mark O’Connor on the latter’s autobiography.
He has also served as an assistant curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and was part of the first curatorial team that assembled the initial exhibits for the museum. He remains affiliated with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the team of interviewers working on the Museum’s Oral History project. Since 1988 he has been senior editor and editor of trade show dailies for New Bay Media, which publishes the recording industry’s leading trade publication, Pro Sound News, as well as several other titles related to the professional audio industry. From 2002 to 2008 he was country music editor for the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain’s online division, barnesandnoble.com. In 2008 he launched an online roots music/culture/environment journal, www.TheBluegrassSpecial.com, a free publication that celebrated its fourth anniversary in April 2008 and now has 100,000 “unique” monthly visitors.