Rolling Stone Tries a New Spin to Shed Its Mossy Image

For years, the cover of Rolling Stone magazine has been reserved for superstars, so a lot of people are going to do a double take Dec. 22 when they see New York upstarts the Spin Doctors on the cover.

The boogie-based pop-rock quartet has been getting lots of attention recently, thanks to a Top 25 single, the frisky “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” and an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

But hundreds of young bands have progressed that far without making the cover.

So why the change?

It’s part of a re-evaluation at the magazine, which many in the pop world have criticized for years for becoming too mainstream.

“If anything, the Spin Doctors is the kind of band that captures the vibe of what the magazine was originally about,” says David Fricke, a veteran Rolling Stone writer who recently took the magazine’s music editor position. He replaces Jim Henke, who is leaving the magazine after 15 years to take a job at Elektra Records as vice president of product development.

“We’re actually capturing the band on the cusp of success rather than after the fact. We need to be a lot more proactive rather than reactive . . . feeling more confident that we have good instincts, and we should rely on them more than ever.”

Fricke says that the cover is merely a symbol of more changes to come. “I remember with least fondness what I call ‘the Jessica Lange Years,’ when she and Paul Newman and all that were on the covers,” Fricke says.

But after those years, does a Stone cover still have any credibility with the street crowd?

“It’s hard to say, because they haven’t had developing acts on the cover,” says Bob Bell, new music buyer for the 300-plus-store Wherehouse chain. “But it still has a big circulation and it’s good news that it may now help expose new acts.”

In any case, it’s an unexpected thrill for the Spin Doctors.

“I can’t think of a better magazine cover to be on,” says Doctor drummer Aaron Comess, who, at 24, is too young to remember RS’ glory years. “It’s the magazine I’ve always read. It’s kinda the president of magazines. It’s in the airports and beauty shops and doctors’ offices. A lot of people see the cover even if they don’t read it.”