John Erskine was born on October 5, 1879, in New York City, the metropolis that would also mark the end of his life. A citizen of the United States, he came of age in a cultural environment that fostered both literary and musical ambitions, attending Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School before continuing his education at Columbia University, where he would later return as a university teacher.

Erskine's professional life spanned an unusually broad range of disciplines. As a writer, he worked across several forms, serving at various points as a novelist, biographer, literary critic, screenwriter, and music critic. His engagement with music extended well beyond commentary: he was also a practicing pianist, a composer, and a musicologist, demonstrating a sustained commitment to musical culture that ran alongside his literary pursuits. This dual orientation — toward letters and toward music — shaped the texture of a career that resisted easy categorization. His use of the English language as his primary medium tied his diverse output to a single coherent tradition, even as his roles multiplied across academic, critical, and creative contexts.

Recognition of Erskine's work came from institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bordeaux and a doctor honoris causa from the University of Dijon, acknowledgments from French academic institutions of his standing as a figure of intellectual consequence. He continued to be based in New York City, the city of his birth, and it was there that he died. The precise date of his death falls in early June 1951, with sources placing it on either June 1 or June 2 of that year.