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Wenner Booted From R&R Hall Of Fame Board
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Bruce
Sep 17, 2023, 12:41:27 AM9/17/23
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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.
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.
Norbert K
Sep 17, 2023, 6:08:49 AM9/17/23
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Bruce
Sep 20, 2023, 3:16:24 PM9/20/23
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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.”
Norbert K
Sep 20, 2023, 6:04:44 PM9/20/23
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On Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 12:16:24 PM UTC-7, Bruce wrote:
> 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.”
Thanks for the info.
> 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.”
Bruce
Sep 22, 2023, 10:43:51 PM9/22/23
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Norbert K
Sep 23, 2023, 7:05:05 AM9/23/23
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On Friday, September 22, 2023 at 7:43:51 PM UTC-7, Bruce wrote:
> https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/what-the-jann-wenner-controversy-says-about-white-gatekeeping-in-music/ar-AA1h3YId?ocid=socialshare&pc=U531&cvid=60389d3d46b44a5b90e6bbbd7a12c1c7&ei=51&fbclid=IwAR2VYuNv65K5rC7I-WQLR2rRjyO_HodMF9_IenN7HKowJQ_5DRgx_sLFjF0
I'm glad the HoF dumped Wenner and that Rolling Stone (from which Wenner resigned four years ago) denounced him.
> https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/what-the-jann-wenner-controversy-says-about-white-gatekeeping-in-music/ar-AA1h3YId?ocid=socialshare&pc=U531&cvid=60389d3d46b44a5b90e6bbbd7a12c1c7&ei=51&fbclid=IwAR2VYuNv65K5rC7I-WQLR2rRjyO_HodMF9_IenN7HKowJQ_5DRgx_sLFjF0
I'm glad the HoF dumped Wenner and that Rolling Stone (from which Wenner resigned four years ago) denounced him.
Bruce
Sep 23, 2023, 8:21:26 PM9/23/23
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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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