Review and Notes: Sticky Fingers, by Joe Hagan

“Sticky Fingers” is the biography of Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine. Wenner was complicated, ambitious, and tumultuous, and so is this 520-page book.

He wrestled with many demons—mostly self-inflicted—and yet still managed to create one of the most culturally impactful media entities of the 20th century, building friendships and infuriating the biggest names in the music industry.

As a sub-plot, I was fascinated by the story of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, a disastrous event which served as a turning point for the social movement of the 1960s and Rolling Stone Magazine itself.

On December 6, 1969, 300,000 people attended the free event, featuring acts like Santana and Jefferson Airplane. The Rolling Stones, spearheading the event as a response to criticism over high ticket prices, were the headline act.

A nice idea—which ended in chaos, violence, and four deaths.

Attendee Meredith Hunter was murdered near the stage by the Hell’s Angels while The Stones played.

The concert shattered the illusion of the 60’s counter-culture dream. It also marked the beginning of Rolling Stone Magazine as a true journalistic entity. The magazine, despite its relationships with the music industry and The Stones themselves, covered the event with eloquence and brutal honesty:

The 300,000 anonymous bodies huddled together on the little dirt hills were indeed an instant city — a decaying urban slum complete with its own air pollution. By the time the Stones finally came on, dozens of garbage fires had been set all over the place. Flickering silhouettes of people trying to find warmth around the blazing trash reminded one of the medieval paintings of tortured souls in the Dance of Death. The stench of the smoke from tens of thousands of potato chip packages and half-eaten sandwiches brought vomiting to many. It was in this atmosphere that Mick sang his song about how groovy it is to be Satan. Never has it been sung in a more appropriate setting.

Rolling Stone’s online archive of its Altamont coverage is fascinating, and so is Sticky Fingers.