Rolling Stone

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Janet Jackson on one of Rolling Stone's most popular covers (From RS 665, September, 1993 ),
Type	Music magazine
Format
Owner	Jann Wenner
Publisher	Wenner Publishing
Editor	Jann Wenner Will Dana
Founded	1967
Language	English
Headquarters	New York City, NY
Circulation	1.5 million[citation needed]
Website: www.rollingstone.com

Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics and popular culture that is published bi-weekly.

[edit] Beginnings in San Francisco

John Lennon - RS 1 (November 9, 1967) 'How I Won the War' Film Still

Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine first started when Wenner stole a list of record label contacts from a nearby radio station and borrowed money from the family of his wife, Jane Wenner.^[1]

Rolling Stone was initially identified with and reported on the hippie counterculture of the era. However, the magazine distanced itself from the underground newspapers of the time, such as Crawdaddy!, embracing more traditional journalistic standards and avoiding the radical politics of the underground press. In the very first edition of the magazine, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone "is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces." This has become the de-facto motto of the magazine.

In its earliest versions, Rolling Stone published a box by its letters section which invited readers who felt that they were qualified to write for the magazine, to send in their work. This drew in many of Rolling Stone's most illustrious writers in its earlier days, from Greil Marcus who would go on to edit its reviews section and still contributes regularly today, to Lester Bangs who famously sent an obscenity-filled essay to the editors before getting hired.

In the 1970s, Rolling Stone began to make a mark for its political coverage, with the likes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson writing for the magazine's political section. Thompson would first publish his most famous work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas within the pages of Rolling Stone, where he remained as a contributing editor until his death. In the 1970s, the magazine also helped launch the careers of many prominent writers, such as the writer-director Cameron Crowe and Kurt Loder, who now works for MTV. It was at this point that the magazine ran some of its most famous stories, including that of the Patty Hearst abduction odyssey.

The magazine was so influential in shaping pop culture in the 1970s that a song dedicated to it, "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (written by Shel Silverstein), became a hit single. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show eventually did end up fulfilling their wish and ended up on the cover of Rolling Stone.

[edit] Move to New York

By the 1980s, despite still employing Thompson and other iconic writers of the sixties and seventies, Rolling Stone had adopted some of the corporate values that it had shunned earlier. Wenner called the Bay Area a "media backwater"^[2] and the magazine moved to New York in 1977, and many date its change in culture from this point. Several of RS' most famous writers, such as Cameron Crowe left in an unwillingness to move to the East Coast, while new ones signed on. It was at this point, that covers became more devoted to movie stars. A short-lived spin-off, College Papers, was edited by Jann Wenner's sister Kate Wenner and ran from about 1981-1983. In his book, Rolling Stone Magazine, Robert Draper notes that it was about the mid-1980s when the magazine became more of a music follower than a music trend setter. A new competitor, Spin, began in 1985 and was considered by many fans and performers to be more in tune with the latest trends in rock and pop music.

In the 1990s, it was late to cover the grunge scene that emerged in Seattle in 1991, most famously with Nirvana's Nevermind being given a three-star review^[3] and chucked into obscurity in the middle of the reviews section. Later it would be rebuffed multiple times by Nirvana's front man, Kurt Cobain who famously wore a "corporate magazines still suck" t-shirt to a photo shoot for a cover story. Rolling Stone was also slow to cover the emergence of hip hop, leading to the emergence of other competitor magazines such as The Source and Vibe^[4]

[edit] Today

In the early 2000s, facing declining revenue and competition from lad mags such as Maxim and FHM, Rolling Stone reinvented itself, hiring former FHM editor Ed Needham. The magazine started targeting younger readers and offering more sex-oriented content, which often focused on sexy young television or film actors as well as pop music. At the time, some long-time readers denounced the magazine, claiming it had declined from astute musical and countercultural observer to a sleek, superficial tabloid, emphasizing style over substance[1]. Since then, however, the magazine has resumed its traditional mix of content, including in-depth political stories, and has seen circulation (currently at 1.5 million) and revenue rise. Will Dana is now the editor.

The 1000th issue of Rolling Stone, which featured over 150 celebrities and fictional characters on its cover

Leading up to what it called the "50th Anniversary of Rock" in 2004, Rolling Stone published a series of all-time greatest lists to recognize historic achievements in the field. These lists provoked considerable discussion from other music critics as to who or what belonged on such lists and in what order; moreover, the strong bias towards British and American artists was underlined. "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" appeared in 2003, followed by "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll" and "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004. They also published The Rolling Stone Immortals, a list of the 100 greatest artists of our time.

On May 7, 2006, Rolling Stone published its 1000th issue. [2] The cover, which was influenced by the cover art of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, featured some the most influential celebrities whom RS had covered.

Rolling Stone has evolved over the years, but certain features regarded as the hallmark of the magazine, such as National Affairs which has been around since the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and Joe Klein, and Rock and Roll are still published in the magazine today. In a bid to react to the advent of the internet, these two features have been made available in the forms of blogs.^[5][6] Rolling Stone also publishes Random Notes, a section which mixes photos with tabloid like headlines. Another regular feature printed next to Random Notes is the Smoking Section which is written by Austin Scaggs.

Today, almost four decades since its founding, the Rolling Stone record reviews section is considered to be one of the most influential of its kind.^[7] It is edited by Nathan Brackett and uses a 1 to 5 star scale to rate records.

[edit] Political commentary

While Rolling Stone is an entertainment magazine, throughout its four decade run it has consistently interjected political and social commentary of all types in order to remain relevant to its now 1.5 million readers. Rolling Stone, loyal to its hippie roots, has traditionally taken a liberal editorial perspective. For example, it was often very critical of the Richard Nixon administration^[8]. The famed Hunter S. Thompson was the main political correspondent for Rolling Stone, writing the National Affairs section. After his death, investigative journalist Matt Taibbi took over. The magazine has been extremely critical of the George W. Bush administration.

• In the May 4, 2006 issue of the magazine, RS printed an article by Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz which said George W. Bush was possibly the "worst president in history," citing a "combination of impotence, laziness and ineptitude for the job." [3]

• RS also printed an issue with a John Kerry cover interview prior to the 2004 Presidential Election,with an article persuading readers to vote for him. In the past, President Bill Clinton as well as Vice President Al Gore (while he was running for the Presidency) have graced the covers of RS. Gore still regularly appears in the pages of RS due to, in part, his environmental advocacy and his film An Inconvenient Truth.

• Rolling Stone published an article by Robert Kennedy, Jr. about Bush stealing the election of 2004.[4] The article was heavily influential and cited by former President Clinton who called it "compelling".^[9]

• In the November 2, 2006 issue of the magazine, RS printed an article condemning the US Congress with a cover article titled "Time to Go! Incompetent, lazy, corrupt: Inside the Worst Congress EVER." The article lists the "10 Worst Congressmen" by name - 9 of whom are Republicans.

[edit] Criticism

Like MTV, Rolling Stone has been criticised for selling out to the establishment. Long time readers have complained that the magazine has strayed from its traditional focus on music and politics toward a new focus on film stars.^[10] Because of this, the magazine seems to have lost touch with many of its readers, although the magazine enjoys a very healthy circulation of 1.5 million copies. The hire of former FHM editor Ed Needham only intensified critics who alleged that Rolling Stone had lost its credibility.^[11] Rolling Stone also generated controversy when its online site ran a blistering critique of Lester Bangs by one of its latter-day writers, Anthony DeCurtis.^[12]

For some time, most famously in the 1970s, Rolling Stone published negative reviews related to hard rock and metal, panning albums by AC/DC, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Rush. These criticisms were lampooned in the film Almost Famous by the lead singer of the band Stillwater.

However, in recent times the magazine gained some credibility back by running long interviews with the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, who announced that the interview he did with Neil Strauss for RS would be his last. The afore-mentioned articles received praise in the letters section for the magazine, even from older readers of the magazine. As former writer David Dalton noted, "to be fair, in almost every issue of Rolling Stone is at least one article that would fit quite seamlessly into the original magazine."^[13]

[edit] Famous staff

[edit] In popular culture

Britney Spears on the April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is largely regarded as the predominant music promotional force in American culture, alongside the likes of MTV. It has been frequently referenced in other forms of media, such as in Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous where Crowe's character worked as a teenage reporter for the magazine and the cult classic music-oriented movie High Fidelity where becoming a Rolling Stone journalist is cited as the lead character's ambition. In the 1985 movie Perfect, John Travolta made an appearance as a Rolling Stone journalist. Wenner made cameo roles in both Almost Famous and Perfect.

The magazine also had made some of the most controversial covers in pop culture; eyebrows were raised when a then-17 year-old Britney Spears was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a sexually suggestive Lolita-themed photo shoot which triggered widespread speculation (denied by her representatives) that the singer had opted to have breast implants.

The Rick Griffin logo for Rolling Stone and magazine cover were used as the basis for promotional images for the film School of Rock.

In the movie Cars, the magazine was called Rolling Tire.

Rolling Stone is also a popular magazine for its influential film reviews.

At the end of The Wedding Singer, Drew Barrymore is reading a Rolling Stone magazine (Issue 440, January 31, 1985) with Billy Idol on the cover, while going to Las Vegas with Glen on the plane. The movie is set in 1985.

[edit] Celebrities who have appeared on the cover

John Lennon and Yoko Ono RS 335 (January 22, 1981), rated "Best Cover of the Past 40 Years" by the American Magazine Conference.

Main article: List of celebrities who have appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine

Appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone has become something of a milestone in the career of many famous artists, and remains the aspiration of many up-and-coming musicians. Some artists have graced the cover many times, some of these pictures going on to become iconic. The Beatles, for example, have appeared on the cover over thirty times, either individually or as a band.^[14] The first ten artists who appeared on the cover are:

• John Lennon
• Tina Turner
• The Beatles
• Jimi Hendrix
• Otis Redding
• Donovan
• Jim Morrison
• Janis Joplin
• Paul McCartney
• Eric Clapton

[edit] Reference works

• Rolling Stone Album Guide. Four editions with varying titles, c. 1979, 1983, 1992, 2004.
• The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. Random House, 1980. ISBN 0-394-73938-8
• Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. 1985.

[edit] International editions

• Australia: A Rolling Stone supplement commenced in 1969 in Go-Set magazine. It became a full title in 1972 and is now published by Next Media Pty Ltd, Sydney.
• Argentina: Rolling Stone is published by Publirevistas S.A. since April 1998.
• Brazil: Published in Brazil since October 2006 by Spring Publicações.
• China: Rolling Stone in mainland China is licensed to One Media Group of Hong Kong and published in partnership with China Record Corporation. The magazine is in Chinese with translated articles and local content. Its cooperation launched in March 2006 as "Rolling Stone" in English and under the Chinese name "音像世界" ("Audio Visual World"). While the launch of this cooperation generated a great deal of speculation in the foreign press about the regulator's attitudes to the magazine, many of the reports published were misleading in reporting that the magazine had ceased publishing, etc. The magazine, under the branding of "音像世界" ("Audio Visual World"), continues to publish today.
• Germany: Published in Germany since 1994 by AS Young Mediahouse.
• Indonesia: Published in Indonesia since June 2005 by JHP Media.
• Italy: Published in Italy since November 2003, first by IXO Publishing and now by Editrice Quadratum. As in China, the Italian version of Rolling Stone has local content and translated articles.
• Russia:Rolling Stone is published by Izdatelskiy Dom SPN since 2004.
• Spain: Rolling Stone is published by PROGRESA in Madrid, since 1999.
• Turkey: Published in Turkish since June 2006 by GD Gazete Dergi.

[edit] Further reading

• Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History - Robert Draper
• Gone Crazy and Back Again - Robert Sam Anson
• But Enough About Me - Jancee Dunn
• Never Drank the Kool Aid - Touré

[edit] See Also

• Lester Bangs
• Kurt Loder
• Almost Famous

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Official Rolling Stone website
• Official Rolling Stone Indonesia website
• Rolling Stone The 100 Best Songs of 2006
• The Voice of America (Observer article, April 30, 2006)
• Rolling Stone 2003 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• Rolling Stone cover gallery
• Rolling Stone, 2003, The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time
• Rolling Stone and its head honcho, Jann Wenner Rockcritics.com page with links