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This article is about the magazine. For other uses, see Rolling Stones (disambiguation).
Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics and popular culture that is published bi-weekly.
Beginnings in San FranciscoImage:22456 lg.jpg John Lennon - RS 1 (November 9, 1967) 'How I Won the War' Film Still Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 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]
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. Move to New York
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] TodayIn 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. Image:RS1000.jpg 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. Political commentaryWhile 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.
CriticismLike 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] Famous staffIn popular cultureImage:BSpearsRstone99.jpg Britney Spears on the April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone 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. Celebrities who have appeared on the coverImage:LennonAndOno.jpg John Lennon and Yoko Ono RS 335 (January 22, 1981), rated "Best Cover of the Past 40 Years" by the American Magazine Conference. 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:
Reference works
International editions
Further reading
Notes
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