Paul Nelson (January 21, 1936 — circa June 28, 2006) was an A&R executive, magazine editor, and music critic best known for writing for Sing Out!, The Village Voice and Rolling Stone. Born in Warren, Minnesota, Nelson attended St. Olaf College and was a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he co-founded a seminal folk revival magazine, The Little Sandy Review. As a critic, he defended Bob Dylan when he "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and was instrumental in supporting the careers of Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Murphy, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and Warren Zevon. While employed by the A&R department of Mercury Records from 1970 to 1975, Nelson briefly served as David Bowie's publicist and championed Rod Stewart, Doug Sahm, Blue Ash & the New York Dolls; he also compiled The Velvet Underground's posthumous 1969: The Velvet Underground Live and made unsuccessful bids on behalf of the label for Springsteen, The Modern Lovers & Richard and Linda Thompson.