A native of Honolulu, and reborn in Austin as a young man in 1984, Michael Corcoran went from The Alternative Press to the Dallas Morning News when he was hired as the paper’s first country music critic in 1992. Twenty years later he retired from the Austin American Statesman to spend his working hours researching and writing Texas music history. Corcoran’s book and CDs on gospel pioneers Arizona Dranes (2012) and Washington Phillips (2017) were both nominated for Grammys in the historical album categories. He is also the author of All Over the Map (2017) and Ghost Notes (2020), which profile Texas music heroes and pioneers.

A native of Honolulu, and reborn in Austin as a young man in 1984, Michael Corcoran went from The Alternative Press to the Dallas Morning News when he was hired as the paper’s first country music critic in 1992. Twenty years later he retired from the Austin American Statesman to spend his working hours researching and writing Texas music history. Corcoran’s book and CDs on gospel pioneers Arizona Dranes (2012) and Washington Phillips (2017) were both nominated for Grammys in the historical album categories. He is also the author of All Over the Map (2017) and Ghost Notes (2020), which profile Texas music heroes and pioneers.

A native of Honolulu, and reborn in Austin as a young man in 1984, Michael Corcoran went from The Alternative Press to the Dallas Morning News when he was hired as the paper’s first country music critic in 1992. Twenty years later he retired from the Austin American Statesman to spend his working hours researching and writing Texas music history. Corcoran’s book and CDs on gospel pioneers Arizona Dranes (2012) and Washington Phillips (2017) were both nominated for Grammys in the historical album categories. He is also the author of All Over the Map (2017) and Ghost Notes (2020), which profile Texas music heroes and pioneers.