Michael Corcoran, prominent Austin music journalist and historian, has died. He was 68.

Family members confirmed Monday afternoon that he was found deceased in his Buda residence.

Corcoran, who wrote in a sometimes gruff, inimitable manner for the American-Statesman, Austin Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Spin, National Lampoon and other publications, spent the past years as a serious historian, publishing books about sometimes unsung Texas music and musicians.

“The most important thing to remember about Corcoran was that he wrote for the National Lampoon,” said Pat Beach, who worked alongside Corcoran at the Statesman after 1997. “He later described himself as a ‘roast critic.’ He also said he regretted some of those barbs. Obviously he had issues. He didn’t take care of himself. But he became this incredible scholar of Texas music.”

Among his highly praised books were “Ghost Notes: Pioneering Spirts of Texas Music” and “All Over the Map: “True Heroes of Texas Music.” His most recent work was published on “Michael Corcoran’s Overserved” on Substack.

Corcoran grew up in a military family in Hawaii, exposed to an incredibly diverse set of musical traditions. He seemed about to cut through the performative pretensions of pop culture to find the authentic core of a musician’s artistry.

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