After making derogatory remarks about Black and female performers, Jann Wenner, who co-founded the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as Rolling Stone magazine, was kicked off the board of the institution. Within hours, he offered an apology.
A day after Wenner’s remarks were made public in an interview with the New York Times, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced on Saturday that Wenner had been dismissed from the board.
Wenner stirred up controversy while promoting his new book, “The Masters,” which includes interviews with white and male musicians such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia, John Lennon, Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen, and Bono of U2.
Wenner’s response, when asked why he didn’t interview Black or female musicians, was, “It’s not that they’re inarticulate; go have a serious talk with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Be my guest, please. Joni (Mitchell) wasn’t a rock ‘n’ roll philosopher, you know. In my opinion, she didn’t pass that standard,” he told the Times.
Stevie Wonder is a genius among Black musicians, right? I assume that using a word as general as “masters” is the problem. Perhaps Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye? They simply couldn’t articulate at that level, according to Wenner.
Wenner issued an apology late Saturday through his publisher, Little, Brown, and Company, stating: “In my interview with The New York Times, I made remarks that diminished the contributions, genius, and impact of Black and women artists. I sincerely apologize for those remarks.”
I sincerely apologize and accept the consequences, he continued, adding that he completely understood the comments’ provocative character.
Rolling Stone was co-founded in 1967 by Wenner, who remained as its editor or editorial director until the end of the year. He also contributed to the 1987 founding of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Wenner seems to acknowledge in the conversation that he would encounter criticism. To avoid this kind of criticism, I should have looked for one Black and one female artist to place here who didn’t meet the same historical requirement, merely for PR purposes.
In its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list from last year, Rolling Stone magazine placed Gaye’s “What’s Going On” at No. 1, Mitchell’s “Blue” at No. 3, Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” at No. 4, Prince and the Revolution’s “Purple Rain” at No. 8, and Ms. Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” at No. 10.
Wenner’s extreme interests led to the creation of Rolling Stone, a magazine that combined expert music and culture coverage with scathing investigative reporting.