David Dalton Cause of Death Tragic: Rock Stars Biographer Dead at 80

David Dalton, a writer who profiled several rockstars, died in New York City. He was 80.

Dalton worked as a writer for Rolling Stone and profiled several personalities like Little Richard, Charles Manson, and Janis Joplin. He went on to write biographies of some rock stars.

His son, Toby Dalton, confirmed to The New York Times (via The Rolling Stone) that he died of cancer on Monday. The family's matriarch also opened up about his works before his death.

"He was taking photographs of groups like the Shangri-Las, and Jann wanted captions. So David started writing. And wrote and wrote and wrote. I asked him the other day when he knew he was a writer, and he said, when his captions got longer and longer," Dalton's wife Coco Pekelis told the news outlet.

It remains unknown what type of cancer he had. But it is worth noting that the World Health Organization estimates that the dreaded disease is a leading cause of death globally. The most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum, and prostate cancers.

David Dalton's Works Revisited

The London-native biographer of musicians later moved to the US with his parents in the 1960s. When he grew up, he found himself working as an assistant for the famous artist, Andy Warhol.

In 1967, he learned about the launch of Rolling Stone, prompting him to send his photographs to Jann Wenner, the company's co-founder. Among the works he contributed, the feature about the cult leader and criminal Charles Manson became the most notable one.

In fact, it successfully earned two National Magazine Award in 1971. Dalton also profiled Janis Joplin during her tour with Full Tilt Boogie Band. With that time he spent the singer until her death in October of that year, he managed to write her biography, "Janis."

The project led him to write more biographies about musicians, and his sense of mortality grew even more in the next years.

"When I wrote rock journalism I was. I was involved in the scene as it was happening, evolving. I went anywhere at the drop of a hat. When I got into my 30s I began writing about the past and have lived there ever since," he said.

The other works he created for other musicians included, "Who Is That Man? In Search of the Real Bob Dylan," "The Beatles: Get Back, James Dean," and "The Rolling Stones: An Unauthorized Biography."