NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone mag and in addition used to be a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the corridor’s board of administrators after making comments that have been noticed as disparaging towards Black and feminine musicians.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” the corridor stated Saturday, an afternoon after Wenner’s comments have been revealed in a New York Times interview.
A consultant for Wenner, 77, didn’t instantly reply for a remark.
Wenner created a firestorm doing exposure for his new ebook “The Masters,” which options 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 did not interview girls or Black musicians, Wenner spoke back: “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 instructed 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 gave the impression to recognize 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 way of Mitchell at No. 3, Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” at No. 4, “Purple Rain” by way of Prince and the Revolution at No. 8 and Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” at No. 10.
Rolling Stone’s area of interest in magazines used to be an outgrowth of Wenner’s oversized pursuits, a mix of authoritative tune and cultural protection with difficult investigative reporting.
___
This tale has been up to date to proper that Wenner used to be a co-founder of Rolling Stone mag and no longer the founder.
___
Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
post credit to Source link