Paul Nelson (January 21, 1936 — circa July 5, 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 before graduating from University of Minnesota, where he became acquainted with Bob Dylan and co-founded a seminal folk revival magazine, The Little Sandy Review. As a critic, he defended 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.