Jules Siegel

Jules Siegel (October 21, 1935 – November 17, 2012) was a novelist, journalist, and graphic designer who is best known as one of the earliest writers to treat rock music as a serious art form, although his writings about rock constituted only a small part of his output.

In 1966, The Saturday Evening Post published an article by Siegel about Bob Dylan. According to Siegel, the article helped establish his credentials on the Sunset Strip, "which is about the only place that sort of thing counted then. [...] My taking rock music seriously was considered one of my little quirks." In 1998, Siegel wrote he was personally introduced to Wilson by Beach Boys associate David Anderle, who had enjoyed Siegel's article about Dylan and suggested that Siegel write about Wilson. He assimilated into a coterie that accompanied Wilson for much of the band's Smile era, a circle that Siegel later called the "Beach Boys marijuana-consumption squad". By early 1967, Wilson was finding Smile hard to finish and had grown suspicious of his associates, including Siegel. Siegel said that Wilson "had forgotten that I was a journalist, and the reason he got rid of me was because Anderle reminded him of that—because of a disagreement that David and I had about what I would and wouldn't write [...] After that [my girlfriend], I and Pynchon went to Studio A and [Michael] Vosse was there, and he said, 'No, you're barred.'" According to Siegel, Brian disliked the article for portraying his "flip-out" during the sessions.

Other work and later years In 1977, Playboy published Siegel's article "Who Is Thomas Pynchon and why did he take off with my wife?" The article recounts his relationship with Pynchon and Pynchon's affair with Siegel's second wife. According to journalist Adam Ellsworth, "In certain circles, this article is far better known than 'Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!' It is certainly more personal". He was also active in book art. Three of his works are in the Museum of Modern Art's Artists Books Collection. His books and calligraphic journals were exhibited at Franklin Furnace in 1978.

On November 17, 2012, Siegel died of a heart attack at age 77.