The Cars - 1980
During the COVID-19 year (2020) I
was going through a box of old newspapers and magazines that have been in storage for the
last thirty years or so and came across my old issues of the RollingStone magazine I'd forgotten all about.
My favorite was issue 329, dated October 30th of 1980, which featured Ric Ocasek and The Cars photographed by Annie Leibovitz; it is hard to believe it was over forty years ago. "My, how time . . . etc."
It
was a good year for Leibovitz on the Stone, she made the cover of
sixteen issues. Richard Avedon only managed to score three.
And of course, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show had their comedic, sarcastic, tongue in cheek, 1972 hit, written by Shel Silverstein, The Cover of 'Rolling Stone,
in which they bemoan the lack of making the cover of the magazine. The
song is a parody of the rock and roll lifestyle. It pokes fun at all the
things that rock stars indulge in when they're successful: groupies,
shady characters hanging around, limo rides, etc. It's a whole lot of
fun and I love this song!
Cover peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. pop chart for two weeks on March 17–24, 1973. The success of the song led to the band actually appearing, in caricature, on the cover of RollingStone on March 29th of 1973.
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - 1973
RollingStone cover
Poison
did a cover (pun intended) of the song. It is a little slower and a bit
more syncopated than the Hook version. Country music singer Chris Janson had his turn at the song in 2017; he plays a hot harmonica and I like his voice (links below).
YouTube links:
Styrous® ~ Saturday, October 30, 2021
Well, we're big rock singers
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us)
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten-thousand dollars a show (right)
We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover
(Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes)
(Stone)Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone (that's a very very good idea)
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroideries on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover
(Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah)
(Stone) want to see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Hey, I know how
Rock and roll
Ah, that's beautiful
We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian Guru
Who's teaching us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep getting richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa)
(Stone) Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
On the cover of the Rollin'
Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover
(talking) I don't know why we ain't on the cover, baby
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother
(talking) We're beautiful subjects
(Stone) Want to see my smilin' face
(talking) I ain't kiddin', we would make a beautiful cover
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man
I can see it now, we'll be up in the front
Smilin, man
Ah, beautiful.
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us)
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten-thousand dollars a show (right)
We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover
(Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes)
(Stone)Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone (that's a very very good idea)
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroideries on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover
(Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah)
(Stone) want to see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Hey, I know how
Rock and roll
Ah, that's beautiful
We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian Guru
Who's teaching us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep getting richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa)
(Stone) Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
On the cover of the Rollin'
Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover
(talking) I don't know why we ain't on the cover, baby
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother
(talking) We're beautiful subjects
(Stone) Want to see my smilin' face
(talking) I ain't kiddin', we would make a beautiful cover
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man
I can see it now, we'll be up in the front
Smilin, man
Ah, beautiful.
Viewfinder links:
Net link:
RollingStone magazine ~ 1980 covers
Society Rock ~ The Story Behind The Cover of Rolling Stone
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show ~
The Cover of 'Rolling Stone (live)
Poison ~ The Cover of 'Rolling Stone
