Timothy John Smolko, 1968–2026

Timothy John Smolko of Athens, Georgia passed away in August 2026 at the age of 58. Born to John and Rose Marie Smolko, he grew up in Western Pennsylvania with his sister Kimberly Pollino. He then attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and moved to Pittsburgh, where he met his future wife Joanna; they promptly fell in love after they realized they were reading the same long book (which neither finished) and were listening to the same music. Joanna, after seeing his alphabetized collection of LPs all over his floor, encouraged him to become a librarian (and get a shelf for them). They married and had many joyful adventures around Pittsburgh while Joanna worked on her PhD in musicology and he studied librarianship at the University of Pittsburgh. In a few short weeks in 2007, they found out that Tim was offered a librarian job at the University of Georgia, and that they were expecting. At the moment of realizing they were having two babies, Tim told his boss “I’m having twins. I have things to do!” and stumbled out the door. They moved to Athens, Georgia, where their twins were born, Ian and Elanor.

Tim worked his dream job in the UGA library until his retirement in April 2026. This job allowed him to expand his curious and brilliant mind while he studied cultures, languages, music, theology, and history, and gained a degree in musicology.

He specialized in mid-century American popular music, writing two books and several chapters on the subject.  His first book, Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick and a Passion Play: Inside Two Long Songs (Indiana University Press, 2013), which analyzed these two seminal albums using perspectives from early music, art history, cultural studies, and music theory. His second book, a seven-year collaborative work with Joanna, Atomic Tunes: The Cold War in American British and Popular Music (Indiana University Press, 2021) analyzed over 500 popular songs, painting a nuanced picture of the period, capturing it’s humor and the terror, grimness and the glee.  His last two years were perhaps his most courageous as he endured ALS, while continuing to be a loving and engaged husband, father, friend, and colleague. Many came and sat around the Smolkos’ dining room table in this season, laughing and telling stories with him. He is survived by his wife Joanna, his children Ian and Elanor, and his sister Kim.

–Naomi Graber