Press & broadcasting / Music
Jaan Uhelszki
· music journalist, editor
Detroit-raised co-founder of Creem and one of the first women in rock journalism, famous for performing onstage with Kiss in full makeup.
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1976
- Field
- Press & broadcasting, Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Uhelszki grew up in Detroit on Motown and FM rock radio and, as a teenager, sold soft drinks as a 'Coke girl' at the Grande Ballroom, which gave her a front-row view of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Stooges, the MC5 and Janis Joplin. While studying journalism at Wayne State University she started in 1970 selling T-shirts for Creem's subscription department and soon became part of the magazine's core staff, alongside Lester Bangs, Dave Marsh and Ben Edmonds, publishing her first article as a 1972 cover story. Her best-known piece, 'I Dreamed I Was Onstage with KISS in My Maidenform Bra', recounts the night she performed with Kiss in full costume and makeup, something no other rock journalist has done. She left Creem for Los Angeles in 1976, later co-founded the pioneering online music magazine Addicted to Noise, and became editor-at-large of the relaunched Creem in 2022.
Highlights
- Co-founder and early editor of Creem
- The only rock journalist to perform onstage with Kiss in makeup
- Worked as a Coke girl at the Grande Ballroom as a teenager
- Founding editor of Addicted to Noise
- Editor-at-large of the relaunched Creem (2022)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · late 1960s
Grande Ballroom
Closed · 1928–1972
She sold soft drinks here as a teenager and saw the era's great rock acts; the building stands empty.
Studied here · about 1970
Wayne State University
She was studying journalism here when she started at Creem.