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Jan Wenner expelled from the R&R HOF Board
From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
All on Sun Sep 17 17:00:04 2023
Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner was booted from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s board of directors on Saturday after disparaging Black and women artists.
His ouster was announced in a brief statement from the board that said simply, “Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.”
The move comes after Wenner sparked backlash in an interview promoting his upcoming book, The Masters, which consists of a collection of interviews with numerous rock and roll legends that all have one thing in common: they are white men. Wenner
attempted to defend the exclusions of women and non-white artists in an interview with The New York Times, but he seemed to only dig himself deeper.
“Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level,” he said. “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.”
He went on to suggest that maybe he should have included a female and Black musician “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,” he told the Times.
Wenner was voted out by all current Hall of Fame members sans Jon Landau following Wenner’s comments to the Times, TMZ reported.
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From
Dean F.@21:1/5 to
All on Sun Sep 17 18:11:17 2023
As you well know, Wenner's attitude is all too typical of the rock-music industry. It's all about white guys with guitars.
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From
DianeE@21:1/5 to
Bruce on Sun Sep 17 20:40:09 2023
On 9/17/2023 8:00 PM, Bruce wrote:
Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner was booted from the Rock and
“Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level,” he said. “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.”
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So Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson, two of the greatest lyricists of the
20th century as well as being rock stars, were inarticulate? I don't
think so.
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From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
Dean F. on Sun Sep 17 18:24:59 2023
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:11:19 PM UTC-4, Dean F. wrote:
As you well know, Wenner's attitude is all too typical of the rock-music industry. It's all about white guys with guitars.
Ironically, one person who would fit perfectly into what Wenner wants is Barack Obama.
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From
Dean F.@21:1/5 to
Bruce on Sun Sep 17 19:09:52 2023
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:25:00 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
Ironically, one person who would fit perfectly into what Wenner wants is Barack Obama.
Obama's a white guy with a guitar?
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From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
Dean F. on Sun Sep 17 20:35:37 2023
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 10:09:54 PM UTC-4, Dean F. wrote:
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:25:00 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
Ironically, one person who would fit perfectly into what Wenner wants is Barack Obama.
Obama's a white guy with a guitar?
No. he's a half white guy who is extremely articulate and very aware of world events, which is Wenner's idea of who he wants to talk to.
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From
DianeE@21:1/5 to
Bruce on Mon Sep 18 11:06:34 2023
On 9/17/2023 11:35 PM, Bruce wrote:
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 10:09:54 PM UTC-4, Dean F. wrote:
On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:25:00 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
Ironically, one person who would fit perfectly into what Wenner wants is Barack Obama.
Obama's a white guy with a guitar?
No. he's a half white guy who is extremely articulate and very aware of world events, which is Wenner's idea of who he wants to talk to.
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That also describes Tom Morello, and he does play the guitar...not
anything *I* like, but probably what Wenner likes.
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From
DianeE@21:1/5 to
All on Tue Sep 19 09:31:08 2023
Days after Rolling Stone’s co-founder Jann Wenner was removed from the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s board following backlash over his disparaging remarks about Black and women songwriters, the famed
magazine threw Wenner firmly under the bus.
“Jann Wenner’s recent statement to the New York Times do not represent
the value and practices of today’s Rolling Stone,” the publication wrote
in a statement issued Monday. “Jann Wenner has not been directly
involved in our operations since 2019.”
After noting that Wenner hadn’t had an active role in the magazine for
years, Rolling Stone added that its purpose since the former owner’s departure “has been to tell stories that reflect the diversity of voices
and experiences that shape our world.” The statement concluded by
stating that “the understanding that music above all can bring us
together, not divide us” is at the magazine’s core.
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From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
All on Wed Sep 20 12:15:56 2023
While board members felt personally appalled by Wenner’s comments, they were also worried about the impact on the hall itself, and its vital relationships with artists — some of whom were already beginning to complain. One missive came from Bernie
Taupin, Elton John’s longtime songwriting partner, who is set to receive the musical excellence award at this year’s ceremony on Nov. 3 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Heather Taupin, his wife and manager, sent an email to hall officials calling
Wenner’s comments “a slap in the face” to inductees and adding, “We feel very strongly he should immediately resign.”
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From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
All on Fri Sep 22 19:44:11 2023
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From
Bruce@21:1/5 to
All on Sat Sep 23 17:21:07 2023
Rolling Stone in particular, through its storied history. (It's interesting that he did not see the irony of granting the "masters" distinction to white practitioners of a Black-born art.) In an oral history of the women who transformed the magazine into
a professional operation, former editor Barbara Downey Landau noted that there was a sign over the desk of Wenner's secretary that said "Boys' Club," and a Black photographer didn't shoot a cover until 2018. In Joe Hagan's Wenner biography, Sticky
Fingers, former Rolling Stone publisher Claeys Bahrenburg summarized Wenner's ideals in the disco heyday of the late '70s: "Every day it was strictly rock-and-roll white bands. He would no more put a black person on the cover than a man on the moon." At
the Rock Hall, these tendencies resurfaced. (Wenner once said Rolling Stone owned the Hall.) When he stepped down in 2019, he told the Times, "People are inducted for their achievements. Musical achievements have got to be race-neutral and gender-neutral
in terms of judging them."
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