50 Years of Rolling Stone: The Music, Politics and People that Shaped Our Culture

by Rolling Stone LLC, Jann S. Wenner (Introduction)

For the past fifty years, Rolling Stone has been a leading voice in journalism, cultural criticism, and—above all—music. This landmark book documents the magazine’s rise to prominence as the voice of rock and roll and a leading showcase for era-defining photography. From the 1960s to the present day, the book offers a decade-by-decade exploration of American music and history. Interviews with rock legends—Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Kurt Cobain, Bruce Springsteen, and more—appear alongside iconic photographs by Baron Wolman, Annie Leibovitz, Mark Seliger, and other leading image-makers. With feature articles, excerpts, and exposés by such quintessential writers as Hunter S. Thompson, Matt Taibbi, and David Harris, this book is an irresistible and essential keepsake of the magazine that has defined American music for generations of readers.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

571 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2017

Reviews

[John Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came into this with hopeful high expectations and leave in disappointment instead. As a faithful reader from the earliest days of the publication I have read these same stories repeatedly in previously published anthologies or through the specific authors collections or books.
The photographers are well represented with their images but minimal information on their labors in making those same images. I was also disturbed by the transitions between the articles.
50 years of the Rolling Stone was a terrific idea but in this case poorly executed. Maybe they will get it right be the 100th anniversary.

[Corey J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed to find this wasn't a collection of the published articles in question, but self-congratulatory "essays" about select articles from the decades with the occasional excerpt thrown in (mostly of interviews). Had this been a collection of the articles being discussed, it would have been among the best rock/culture criticism books out there.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos are the stars here. I am of two-minds when it comes to the article/interview excerpts…should there be less or more? And clearly (to me), the pieces tend to lose their punch in the 21st Century.

[Gregory Dewaegheneire · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a poorly executed idea. A ‘good’ read if you have no attention span. Great photos, but very very very short articles.

[Patrick Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. A coffee table size book that delved into the covers and articles of Rolling Stone Magazine over the past 50 years. Explaining how the magazine came from an idea to be launched and explains what went into the magazine not only succeeding but thriving.

The photos were full page size and amazing. Portraits of musical greats that showed the full character of the artist. Many I had seen over the years and some I had not. The write ups on the music was interesting but to me the best part was when Rolling Stone got down and dirty discussing it's ground breaking articles over the years. How they "broke the story" and what went into that.

While I always read Rolling Stone when I had the chance I never truly understood the hard subjects their news section had tackled. From AIDS to political campaigns they have a first rate news section. And the section on Hunter Thompson was quite eye opening.

This is a must have book for any fan of the Rolling Stone Magazine and should be strongly considered as a great coffee table book and an insight into the major happenings in music and beyond for the last 50 years. This was a very enjoyable book with a lot of insight, great articles and fantastic pictures of the top music acts of the last 50 years.

[Shant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

As someone who only read Rolling Stone in my high school senior year at study, I am more familiar with the magazine for the covers, and Jann Werner's controversies, then any actual connection. But I like celebratory things and am a sucker for time capsule content, so this book got me. I liked reading about the 70's era features like the Patty Hearst article and the 1976 election the Family, as well as the 90's era pieces on Mandatory Minimums and the rise of fast food. Ironically, the features for the musicians were a little so-so.

[Pekka Termonen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books brings back so many memories. Excellent photography! The best of them of Meryl Streep. I hope Rolling Stone keeps going on. RS is not all about music. It is also a magazine about political coverage in the US. It is an American magazine. Keep that in mind. It neglects most of the world. Not climate change tho.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally created in 1967 in San Francisco as a rock & roll newspaper it grew into a four-color magazine examines politics and pop culture. Includes articles and images. includes some bare skin and swearing.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice review of the first 50 years of Rolling Stone magazine. As a subscriber from the 1980's through the late 1990's, it was like a refresher of the way things were. I really enjoyed the photos too.

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of music intersects with the history of the world.

Besides the amazing photos, the essays on the artists of our time and the events that shaped our lives are excellent chronicles.

On a negative note..there’re so few women represented as both subject and reporting in this book.

[David Frazzini · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very meta - I was expecting articles from the archives of RS, but instead got blurbs describing what was in the articles. There was also some context setting, which was interesting in many cases, but I would rather have read the articles themselves.

[RetroHound · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very self-serving, yet still interesting, coffee-table-sized book on the history of Rolling Stone Magazine with lots of full-page photographs. I subscribed from 1985 till sometime in the early '90s so I remember a bit of it.

[Wendy Zuern · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, good pictures though. Mostly articles about articles they had done, not the actual articles themselves.

[Sharon Falduto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly pictures, some excerpts of interviews, of important stories and covers throughout the last 50 years.

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much a photo album for baby boomers or how a fun rock and roll rag began to take itself seriously.

[Richard Zaric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great coffee table book. Fantastic visuals. Many of the photos are iconic. Nice overview of Rolling Stone's impact on music, culture and journalism.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most interesting parts of this book were from it's inception, through the early 70s. In fact, I would have enjoyed a similar book called "The 1st 25 years" with more focus on its creation as a counter culture publication.

[Tess Mattimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coffee table book but it has a ton of Rolling Stones’ best stories over the past 50 years and commentary looking back on them now. Worth the reading through (or just your favorite decade) if you love music history.

[Mel James Dawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all those Stones fansA superb read

An Amazing and insightful read.... I just couldn’t put it down, it took me to a different realm. Utterly Brilliant!

[Mills College Library]

051 A11183 2017