Rolling Stone Snubs Early Rock Stars

It’s hard to find much satisfaction in the new issue of Rolling Stone.

The magazine’s theme sounds harmless enough: a poll naming the 100 best singles of the past 25 years.

But the concept is a disservice to rock history.

By limiting the competition to records released since 1963, the magazine sends out the message to a generation of young readers that pre-’60s musicians were some sort of separate--and possibly unequal--breed.

Suddenly demoted by Rolling Stone: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Jackie Wilson and maybe 500 other musicians who made the records that ignited the rock revolution.

Why this discouraging Orwellian rewrite of rock history?

In an introduction to the poll results, Rolling Stone explains 1963 was chosen as the cutoff date because “that year marks the beginning of the modern rock era. . . . a time of revitalization and reinvention in rock & roll following its slump in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.”

This isn’t the first time Rolling Stone has shortchanged rock’s first decade. A 1987 poll was devoted to the Top 100 albums of the last 20 years. The justification for that cutoff may have been misguided, but at least it was understandable: the poll was part of the magazine’s own 20th anniversary celebration.

This time the cutoff makes no sense--except as a marketing decision.

Could it be that Rolling Stone--which has often given its cover in recent years to subjects whose newsstand sales potential exceeds their importance--is again thinking about demographics rather than history?

By allowing its critics to vote for pre-’63 artists, odds are that the magazine would have ended up with half or more of its list consisting of records from that era.

The result? The poll might have lost a lot of its sizzle for both ‘60s nostalgia buffs and for younger readers who may prefer more focus on ‘70s and ‘80s acts.

While a spokesman for the magazine said the decision to limit the poll to records from the last 25 years was based on editorial rather than marketing considerations, the fact remains that this is an artificial division.

Rock ‘n’ roll didn’t start in the 16th Century. It arrived as a definable sociological and pop force in the mid-’50s. To say that the “modern rock era” began eight to nine years later is a meaningless distinction. It’d make more sense to argue that the modern rock era began in 1976--with the arrival of the Sex Pistols and the punk revolution in England.

When you are dealing with a history that only dates 35 years, why draw a distinction?

Rolling Stone remains the source of much excellent writing, but it seems to have been guilty in recent years of allowing sales considerations to interfere with its musical perspective. An actor whose photo will sell magazines stands a far better chance of gracing the cover than an important, but only moderately successful band. Michael Douglas has been on the cover three times. It took U2 four albums to finally make the cover.

In the end, the decision about who goes on the cover is simply a matter of commerce. But when Rolling Stone begins to tamper with rock history, we’re talking about the magazine’s integrity.

The Top 10 best singles of the past 25 years, as voted by Rolling Stone critics, are, in order: the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,” Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love.”

Some good choices, but how could you keep at least half of these records off the list: Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel”/”Hound Dog,” Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” or “Sweet Little Sixteen,” Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”/”Slippin’ and Slidin’,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On,” Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame,” the Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love,” Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” or Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops?”

LIVE ACTION: Elton John has added a third Hollywood Bowl date (Sept. 25). Tickets on sale Monday. . . . Tickets go on sale Sunday for both Jimmy Page’s Oct. 7 appearance at the Forum and Robert Palmer’s Oct. 9 stop at the Universal Amphitheatre. . . . The Scorpions will be at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Oct. 19, while Iggy Pop will be at the Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 7. . . . Tickets go on sale Monday for these Wiltern Theatre shows: Bobby McFerrin (Sept. 20), Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Sept. 28), Basia (Sept. 30), Billy Bragg and Michelle Shocked (Oct. 1) and Raphael (Oct. 7). . . . Wire, Pere Ubu and John Cale will be at the John Anson Ford Theatre on Sept. 27.