Jay M. Pilzer

Jay Pilzer was born in Virgina in 1946. He has a PhD in History from Duke University and taught History at Norfolk State University, Vanderbilt University (visiting lecturer), and retired from Motlow State Community College in Tennessee. He was also the Executive Director of The Jewish Federation of Nashville for ten years.

He is a long time guitar player, and owned New Hope Guitar Traders for nearly three decades. He has written articles about guitars for several publications and was featured on the PBS show, History Detectives in a segment about a Josh White model Guild guitar.

His book, A Six String History of America,(2014) combines his curiosity, training, and passion for guitars and the music made on them.

His new book, The Fans Went Wild: Stories of Devotion, Desertion, and Despair will be available in February of 2018. In it, Pilzer looks at how fans react when an artist or genre makes a sudden shift.

He lived in Nashville, Tennessee for years. He now lives in Southold, New York with his wife, Rachel Yellin.