Kevin Ransom was a celebrated freelance journalist and music writer from Dearborn.
Kevin Ransom, an iconic, Dearborn-based freelance journalist known for his captivating and memorable music writing, has died.
He was 69.
Dearborn police found Ransom dead at his Dearborn home on Saturday afternoon. His cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
Ransom had chronic fatigue syndrome and severe sleep apnea, forcing him to retire from journalism about nine years ago.
His friend, Matt Roush, called police to do a welfare check on Saturday after not hearing from Ransom for several days. Ransom had asked Roush to pick up medication for him at the pharmacy. After Ransom didn’t respond to Roush’s message and phone calls since Thursday, Roush called the police.
Roush, a longtime tech journalist who is now managing editor of Lawrence Technological University’s media services for Yellow Flag Productions, befriended Ransom several years ago on Facebook after noticing that the pair had a lot in common. Roush often gave Ransom rides to the pharmacy and store, and they would sit in the car talking.
“He was a really good storyteller,” Roush tells Metro Times. “All of those trips to the grocery store lasted longer than they had to, which was a good thing. He would tell great stories about all of the rock ’n’ rollers he interviewed, like Bonnie Raitt and the Band, which was his favorite. He talked about all the people he had interviewed. When a song came on the radio, no matter what song it was, he said he talked to that person or that band. His background was amazing. He was fun to be around.”
In addition to music, Ransom also wrote about the auto industry, entertainment, business, the environment, and general features. His work appeared in more than two dozen publications, including Rolling Stone, The Detroit News, Ann Arbor News, Guitar Player, Automotive News, Heritage Newspapers, and Ford World.
He had been a freelance reporter for decades.
Although Ransom was a prolific writer on numerous subjects, he was most known for his compelling, in-depth music writing. He admired local music and helped shine a light on bands that weren’t yet nationally known. He was particularly fond of folk, roots, blues, alternative, and 1960s rock.
“He was always a champion of local music and local musicians,” Michigan folk legend Matt Watroba tells Metro Times. “You could always count on him to write good, insightful pieces about local stuff.”
Watroba, who has a show on WKAR, a public radio station out of Michigan State University and hosts an increasingly popular podcast No Root, No Fruit, which explores the history of folk, roots, and Americana music, says Ransom was “a true fan” of music.
“He was a very deep music writer,” Watroba says. “He was a huge fan of music, and therefore had a deep understanding of it. He wrote eloquently about it.”
Despite his popularity, Ransom had financial troubles. He lived in a modest bungalow in Dearborn, which was originally built by his grandparents in 1949. He bought the house in 2002 after the death of his grandmother.
When his health began to deteriorate nearly a decade ago, he struggled to make ends meet. But because of his connection to musicians, they came out when he most needed it. In August 2015, numerous bands came together to perform a benefit concert for Ransom at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The bands included the Chenille Sisters, Peter Madcat Ruth, Matt Watroba, Rev. Robert Jones, Dave Boutette, Jo Serrapere & John Devine, and Katie Geddes.
Ransom also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his most basic needs.
In the years before his death, Ransom sported a big, white flowing beard.
Because of his health problems, Ransom had gained a lot of weight but recently lost about 30 pounds by adopting a new diet and cutting out alcohol, Roush says.
Politically, Ransom was progressive and opinionated and could be prickly about conservatives.
“His favorite word for them was ‘imbeciles,’” Roush says. “He was very progressive.”
Ransom received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Michigan University.
“Kevin Ransom is an extraordinarily gifted journalist — reliable, insightful, on time, an expert interviewer, and highly personable,” Jas Obrecht, a nationally known music journalist, wrote on LinkedIn. “I’ve given him many assignments for national publication, and he has excelled in all of them. He’s also great at newspaper work.”
