David Dalton

John David Dalton (January 15, 1942 – July 11, 2022) was a British-born American author and a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He wrote several books, including the cult classic James Dean, the Mutant King, as well as co-writing Pop: The Genius of Andy Warhol (with Tony Scherman), and collaborating with Paul Anka on the singer's autobiography, My Way.

Early life John David Dalton was born to John Dalton and Kathleen Tremaine in London on January 15, 1942. His father was a doctor and his mother was an actress.

Dalton would write twenty-four books, including biographies of Warhol, James Dean, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious, and the Rolling Stones. He was also the co-author of the autobiography of Marianne Faithfull (Faithfull. An Autobiography, 1994) and of the autobiography of Steven Tyler, Does The Noise In My Head Bother You? (HarperCollins, 2011).

Awards and honors Dalton, along with David Felton, won the Columbia School of Journalism Award for their interview with Charles Manson. He also won the Ralph J. Gleason Best Rock Book of the Year award for his book Faithfull.

Personal life Dalton was married to the writer Coco Pekelis; they had a son and lived in Upstate New York. On July 11, 2022, Dalton died from cancer in Manhattan, at the age of 80.