Terry Teachout was born on February 6, 1956 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA. He was married to Hilary Dyson and Liz Cullers. He died on January 13, 2022 in Smithtown, New York, USA.
He started out as a musician, playing bass in country bands and jazz groups in Missouri. He began writing classical music reviews while in college, then worked as a bank teller by day, a jazz musician at night and a writer on the side.
He was an arts critic and playwright who also wrote biographies of H.L. Mencken, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.