50 years of Rolling Stone—the covers, the people, the chutzpah and the folly

Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine

Ever wonder what went on behind the scenes at Rolling Stone?

Though I followed the magazine religiously for a time in my youth, I’m not sure I ever did. But Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine is a fascinating read.

From publisher Jann Wenner‘s weird American childhood to his stewardship of one of the most influential magazines of the last half-century, Sticky Fingers is a long strange trip. As I write this, I’ve just reached the point where, Wenner has moved lock, stock and barrel from San Francisco to New York City. Staff is unhappy; customized furniture includes secret cocaine drawers. And John Lennon has just been murdered.

Sticky Fingers is full of names, some familiar, some not so much. My reading has been continuously disrupted as I’ve hit Google to check out faces, places and magazine covers that Hagan mentions. I’ve put collected a number of these images on a Pinterest board. This is my pictorial journey through the new book.