Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine and also was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall's board of directors after making comments that were seen as disparaging toward Black and female musicians.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” the hall said Saturday, a day after Wenner's comments were published in a New York Times interview.
A representative for Wenner, 77, did not immediately respond for a comment.
Wenner created a firestorm doing publicity for his new book “The Masters,” which features interviews with musicians Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend and U2’s Bono — all white and male.
Asked why he didn't interview women or Black musicians, Wenner responded: “It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni (Mitchell) was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test,” he told the Times.
"Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level,” Wenner said.
Wenner co-founded Rolling Stone in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019. He also co-founded the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which was launched in 1987.
In the interview, Wenner seemed to acknowledge he would face a backlash. “Just for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism."
Last year, Rolling Stone magazine published its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and ranked Gaye's “What's Going On” No. 1, “Blue” by Mitchell at No. 3, Wonder's “Songs in the Key of Life” at No. 4, “Purple Rain” by Prince and the Revolution at No. 8 and Ms. Lauryn Hill's “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” at No. 10.
Rolling Stone’s niche in magazines was an outgrowth of Wenner’s outsized interests, a mixture of authoritative music and cultural coverage with tough investigative reporting.
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19 Comments
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u_s__reamer
An intellectual of Wenner's generation (Boomer) set among rock 'n' rollers who made it in the music business for reasons other than being articulate or educated was bound to set the fox among the chickens and ruffle feathers and place him in the crosshairs of today's prevailing cancel culture of the politically correct. Wenner himself might have chosen some unfortunate words of explanation to David Marchese's "gotcha" question and I believe he apologized for hurting feelings with his choice of words. And yet, removing the co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from the same is a sign of our snowflake times. After all, his personal collection is called "The Masters". Sigh!
Paustovsky
Ignoring the fact it's a downright stupid idea, by the power of greyskull, how did Bono get his name on here ?
Even if I spent the morning listing white guys, I still wouldn't consider him.
happyhere
Why do musicians have to be philosophers?
"Doo wah diddy, diddy dum diddy do"
finally rich
Wenner is an old school liberal who participated in the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and obviously took it at face value. He didn't get the memo.
Not that I feel bad for him as he is an extreme lefty.
It's just nice to see these people get it in the teeth by the monster they created.
Speed
Jesus, these are who he thinks are masters. He doesn't have to have any women or black artists on his list. It's his opinion, for Christ sake. Woke and cancel culture suck.
Paustovsky
The most deafening noise is from people who say they have been cancelled.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Jeezus, just looking to go out in a blaze of bigotry I guess.
Toblerone
Rolling Stone magazine is garbage, largely because of Wenner.
Toblerone
He shouldn't be chastised for having an opinion.
America is infected with this rotten woke freedom disease and cancel culture
U.S used to be a great nation.
Agreed.
Toblerone
It's just nice to see these people get it in the teeth by the monster they created.
Yep!
Toblerone
Wenner was a Lennon/Yoko Ono fanboy. If a Rolling Stone writer reviewed a Paul McCartney album and praised it Wenner would order the review be re- written and denigrating McCartney. Hes a typical “progressive”. Justice to see him eaten buy his own.
Keith Robson
He didn't not include people because they were black or women; he just didn't include the black or women musicians he considered to be the kind of people he wanted included. He's not stating a fact; he presenting his viewpoint.
Toblerone
He's not stating a fact; he presenting his viewpoint.
Viewpoints that dont follow der woke narrative are verboten in our times. And itcouldnt have happened to a more deserving fellow.
Toblerone
Poor Jann. He spent his whole career projecting himself as a hip trendy lefty. I think he even believed it. And now hes going out in shame, villified by the hypocrites he helped create.
commanteer
Nothing to see here. A selfish social climber who did nothing for rock music - sacked by hall of fame that does nothing for rock music (and doesn't even seem to know what it is). Rolling Stone trashed early Led Zeppelin - calling them a weak imitation of Cream. That's how little they offered to the discussion.
Mocheake
Screw him. Goodbye. The magazine was always bigoted and he's just full of himself. Articulation. Translation: If you don't speak like an "extremely highly ridiculously educated white man" like me, I don't want to talk to you because you can't possibly know anything or be as smart as me. It's a music magazine not a Rhodes Scholar course and I think some of the people he left off are just as legendary ax the ones he named. Another white buffoon bites the dust.
kaimycahl
@Paustovsky The most frightening thing is seeing and hearing about the mindset of people who feel they aren't cancelled. Oh BTW I hear you!!
The most deafening noise is from people who say they have been cancelled.
kaimycahl
@Keith Robson How can you have Rock and Roll and not include people who were very instrumental to creating the sound?? In other words he made money off of them and now he can rock in his old age, roll on the ground until he is buried under a stone and die as a "WENNER" .
He didn't not include people because they were black or women; he just didn't include the black or women musicians he considered to be the kind of people he wanted included. He's not stating a fact; he presenting his viewpoint.
CommentToday
I think this guy is dumb and what he says is just dumb.
No one cares about the rolling stones anymore.