November 9, 2022 – Rolling Stone

On this day in 1967, the very first issue of Rolling Stone magazine was published! It was created by a former UC Berkley student, Jann Wenner, and jazz critic Ralph Gleason. They took the name from a Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’ Stone” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”. The first issue had John Lennon on the cover and a lead article about the Monterey Pop Festival. The magazine started making its mark with political reporting in the 1970s, with journalists like Hunter S. Thompson writing for their political section. Rolling Stone also published some of its most famous stories in the ’70s, like a feature on Charles Manson and coverage of the Patty Hearst abduction. In the ’90s, the magazine became more youth-oriented, and reached peak circulation of 1.5 million in 2006. Learn more here.