Jann Wenner Is Wrong. Here’s Why.

You may have read some comments made by the co-founder of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner, in a recent New York Times interview. His book, The Masters, failed to pay due respect to the roles played in the history of Rock n’ Roll by both people of colour and of women. It contains interviews with some prominent rock musicians of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, all of which happen to be with white men. I want to make it clear that my editorial is directed solely at Wenner for his comments in that particular article, not at his book, which I have not yet read, therefore having no basis on which to critique. My objective is to illuminate why Wenner is grossly mis-informed and/or wilfully deluded on his chosen subject.

In the aforementioned article, the interviewer points to a passage in the introduction of The Masters, where Wenner claims that both women and performers of colour are “just not in your zeitgeist. Wenner responds that he referred, primarily, to performers of colour. He goes on to say of the famous women performers he has interviewed over the years, “None of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level,” as much as the white male performers he chose to include in his book. He carries on further that the seven wonders he included – respectively and respectfully Bono, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townsend – met the criteria of ‘Rock Philosophers’, whatever that means. Thus, justifying their inclusion in the book. He rambles on vaguely about how performers like Townsend and Mick Jagger (whose interview is not included in the book, unlucky there, Mick) were writing “…deep things about a particular generation, a particular spirit and a particular attitude about Rock n’ Roll. Not that others weren’t, but these were the ones that could particularly articulate it.”

It appears that they aren’t the only ones with difficulty in articulating themselves.

I’m trying to understand what “spirit” and “attitude” Wenner is talking about in the context of Rock n’ Roll that is somehow so exclusive that it can only be synthesised and articulated by a small number of famous white men. Isn’t Rock n’ Roll a form of youth music, endemic of the spirit of rebellion against an austere and imperialistic older generation? Isn’t is supposed to be symbolic of the breaking down of barriers between black and white, male and female, gay and straight, moving us forward to a more tolerant, free and peaceful society? That was always my interpretation.

A cursory glance at the history and roots of what became Rock n’ Roll reveals that the ultimate stylistic influence on the genre is the Blues. Fundamentally, at its beating heart, rock music is derivative of the most influential and quintessentially African-American folk music styles. The 12-bar blues chord progression and rhythmic structure are they very thing that gave early Rock n’ Roll – as pioneered by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Fats Domino – its pulse. This style of playing was handed down to them from their rural forefathers such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, Hudie Ledbetter, Robert Johnson and Arthur Crudup, amongst many more nameless and forgotten musicians. Their more urban contemporaries during the 1920s were the Vaudevillian blues matriarchs such as Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith and Ma Rainey. Blues was adopted by white folk musicians, incorporating their own styles, and helped cultivate a more distinctly American folk music. This would lead to the creation of Country, as a genre. Music became a great equaliser.

Gospel music, too, is another massive influence, descending from spirituals sung in African-American churches throughout the Deep South for generations. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a woman of colour and guitar virtuoso, became the first recording star of gospel, reaching audiences outside of the Southern churches. Future sensations such as Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, both white men, would sit entranced, listening to gospel choirs, which profoundly influenced their own music.

White women performers who have left a resounding impression on the genre include Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, and Janis Martin. During the 1960s, an exponential rise in creativity came from Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips (of The Mamas and The Papas), Linda Ronstadt, and Carole King. Elliot and Phillips drew inspiration from the American folk revival with groundbreaking artists like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and a woman of colour who exerted a huge influence over artists like Bob Dylan, Odetta. Odetta reflected deeply about a particular generation, spirit and attitude, more profoundly than the likes of Jagger, Bono and Townsend. Wenner, though, dismisses this. Could it be, in fact, that what Wenner means when he claims to seek these things is that he really seeks the white, male bravado and confidence of the 1960s rockers that came about when mainstream, predominantly white, audiences caught on to Blues in the form of Rock n’ Roll? Considering that this is the very same time period as when Rolling Stone was founded in ’67, I think this is more likely.

I could repeat the same exercise for a multitude of genres including – but not limited to – Jazz, Country, Motown, Soul, Funk, Disco, Ska, Punk and Hip-Hop/R&B. I think I’ve made my point, though.