Tuesday, February 3, 1998
Etched in Stone
MUSIC/ART A retrospective exhibit in Ackerman Grand Ballroom
celebrates
30 years of musicians
as art on the cover
of Rolling Stone
By Laura Noguera
Daily Bruin Contributor
"Wanna buy five copies for my mother/ Wanna see my smilin’ face
on the cover, the cover of the Rollin’ Stone."
In the song "’Cover of the Rolling Stone," a 1972 top 10 hit,
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show reveal their desires to be featured
on the cover of Rolling Stone.
For 30 years, Rolling Stone magazine has captured the
personalities of the moment on their cover. Now, original covers,
in addition to audio and video presentations can be viewed at the
AT&T-sponsored Rolling Stone Covers Tour, coming to UCLA’s
Ackerman Grand Ballroom on Wednesday.
"I think the cover of Rolling Stone has always meant more than
just another magazine cover," says David Wild, a Rolling Stone
writer. "It surely has a certain kind of extraordinary impact."
Jann Wenner, a college dropout, started Rolling Stone in 1967.
In its early years, Rolling Stone was the only major publication
covering the rock ‘n’ roll scene. Bands, like Dr. Hook and the
Medicine Show, knew that if they were featured on the magazine, it
distinguished them as a talented band.
"The cover of the Rolling Stone was like the ultimate dream of
some bands at that point," Wild says. "I think Rolling Stone can
help, especially when there was no other rock ‘n’ roll media of any
note."
The covers tour commemorates those talented people who made it,
displaying their characters as they impacted the media. The exhibit
takes visitors through time, revealing the important icons in their
primes.
"I don’t think it will be like the typical trip to a museum,"
Wild says. "I think that it will be more like a rock ‘n’ roll
experience."
The displays are arranged according to themes and include the
covers, corresponding stories and quotes or letters from the
featured personalities. Visitors walk through a giant letter "R" to
enter the exhibit, as if they are entering the magazine itself.
"You can literally walk along and look at a certain era," says
Deb De Fago, an AT&T representative who attended the New York
showing.
Visitors can see the Rolling Stone’s first cover, a black and
white picture of John Lennon. Moving through the exhibit, they can
see photos of Mick Jagger, who has appeared on the cover a record
20 times or Bob Dylan, who has appeared 13 times. Tour goers can
also see current covers, like Wild’s "South Park" cover story which
debuted last week.
"The show will reflect what’s happening now, but it will also
reflect what led up to it," Wild says. "It’s going to be a chance
to look at many of the most famous and kind of startling images
that have appeared on the cover."
Wild may be referring to some of the more famous images in the
tour. One is the renowned cover of a nude John Lennon wrapped
around a clothed Yoko Ono. This picture made them the only nude
couple on a Rolling Stone cover.
"That’s a pretty popular cover," De Fago says. "You might look
and say, ‘So that’s what my folks were talking about.’"
The exhibited artifacts from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum and Wenner’s personal collection should impress visitors as
well. Madonna fans can view her Blonde Ambition tour outfit. U2
fans can wonder at record company rejection letters. Beatles fans
can marvel at a personal letter from John Lennon to Wenner. The
tour also showcases multimedia displays. Audio clips from past
celebrity interviews will run alongside a video about the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, showing different exhibits at the
museum and clips from past concerts.
"It was done by a group in Ireland, which I thought was pretty
neat," De Fago says. "They are the ones who have done U2 videos and
stuff."
The multimedia and artifact selection is diverse, following the
magazine’s tendency to cover many angles of the music, film and
television industries. The magazine continues to report on subjects
that are received very differently in society.
"At one point I think we had a Woody Allen cover and the next
cover was Motley Cruee," Wild says. "I remember thinking, ‘I don’t
think that there are too many people who like Motley Cruee and
Woody Allen.’"
One does not need to be an avid Rolling Stone reader to enjoy
the exhibit.
"There is Elvis. Everybody knows Elvis," De Fago says. "You sort
of walk through it and stay a little bit longer at the covers or
artifacts that capture your interests more."
Experiencing pop culture through the eyes of Rolling Stone is an
unusual history lesson. It’s a glimpse into the lives of important
and impacting figures.
"It’s not just a few covers slapped up on a wall," Wild says.
"It is going to be true to what Rolling Stone is all about."
ART: The Rolling Stone Covers Tour shows Wednesday through
Friday in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom at UCLA. Admission is free.
For more information, call (310) 825-1958.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone has captured the faces of the rock scene for 30
years.