Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues. Kot co-hosts the radio program Sound Opinions, which introduces itself as "the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show", nationally syndicated through Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ. A native of Syracuse, New York, Kot graduated from Marquette University.
Greg Kot

Stephanie Sean Ware from Chicago · Greg Kot · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Greg Kot
- Born
- 3 March 1957
- Occupation
- Journalist, author
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- creative and professional writing · music journalism · music criticism · pop music
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues. Kot co-hosts the radio program Sound Opinions, which introduces itself as "the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show", nationally syndicated through Chicago Public Radio, WBEZ. A native of Syracuse, New York, Kot graduated from Marquette University.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Greg Kot. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1028115 · wikipedia · Greg Kot
In this article
Biography
Biography
Kot started his career at the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa in June 1978 and then joined the Chicago Tribune in 1980. He was named the paper's rock music critic in 1990, and held that job until taking a buyout from the Tribune in early 2020. Kot has co-hosted the radio show Sound Opinions since its 1993 launch. The show is syndicated to about 150 radio stations nationwide and also exists as a weekly podcast. In 2020, Chicago's WBEZ terminated its production agreement with Sound Opinions, although the show will continue to be produced independently. Kot's books include Wilco: Learning How to Die, Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music, and I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers and the March up Freedom's Highway. He co-authored The Beatles vs. Sound Opinions on the Great Rock 'n' Roll Rivalry (Voyageur Press) with his Sound Opinions co-host Jim DeRogatis. His music criticism and journalism has appeared in Encyclopædia Britannica, Cash: By the Editors of Rolling Stone, Harrison: A Rolling Stone tribute to George Harrison, The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock, The Rolling Stone Album Guide and MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. A longtime contributor to Rolling Stone, Kot has written for a dozen national publications, including Details, Blender, Entertainment Weekly, Men's Journal, Guitar World, Vibe and Request. Kot lives on Chicago's Northwest Side and is a longtime youth basketball coach.

Greg Kot signs copies of his book Ripped after a panel discussion about writing and music at the DePaul University Barnes Noble
Stephanie Sean Ware from Chicago · Greg Kot
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Greg Kot • Born — 3 March 1957 • Occupation — Journalist, author • Language — English • Genre — music journalism
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1957
Greg Kot born at Syracuse.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1028115: Greg Kot
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Greg Kot”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1028115: Greg KotWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,078 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Greg EganAuthor
- Greg GutfeldAuthor
- Greg HallAuthor
- Greg IlesAuthor
- Greg McGeeAuthor
- Greg McLarenAuthor
- Greg MortensonAuthor
- Greg YoungingAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Greg Kot?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.