Jann S. Wenner

Year:
2004
Inducted by:
Ahmet Ertegun & Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)
Category:
Ahmet Ertegun Award

Introduction

The man who revolutionized music journalism.

He founded, edited and published Rolling Stone magazine, the ultimate standard in music journalism. The first music magazine to take the form seriously, Rolling Stone blossomed from an indie magazine to a cornerstone of music journalism under his guidance and professionalism.

Ahmet Ertegun and Mick Jagger Induct Jann Wenner

Ahmet Ertegun and Mick Jagger Induct Jann Wenner at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Ahmet Ertegun and Mick Jagger Induct Jann Wenner

00:10:16
Jann Wenner acceptance speech

00:11:39
"Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard"

00:04:50
Jann Wenner Inducts and Accepts for the Sex Pistols

00:01:52

Hall of Fame Essay

2004

Cameron Crowe

There are some who say rock & roll, at its very core, is a temporary form. Even in the earliest days of rock & roll, it was all folly, right? Passionate and cheeky melodies meant to be heard crackling over a car radio, a souvenir of a night spent dancing or making out. Every real musician or fan knew, though, that rock & roll was much deeper than that.

Rock & roll was code, and just under the surface was the promise of rebellion, of a life beyond what your parents could understand. It was a secret world to smuggle into your home, shut your door and get lost in.

It took a fleet of guitarists and pianists to put that secret world together, but one man realized rock & roll needed a diary and a journal.