Rolling Stone Magazine No. 79 April 1 1971 Captain Beefheart David Bowie Bee Gees

Description

Rolling Stone No. 79 is a terrific slice of 1971 counterculture, anchored by an unforgettable Captain Beefheart cover—caught mid-harmonica with that trademark top hat. Inside, the issue delivers a wonderfully strange cross-section of the era: a full Bee Gees “2 Years On” spread; an early-meets-androgynous photo of David Bowie accompanying John Mendelsohn’s piece on his evolving image; and Langdon Winner’s long essay “In Search of America,” following Captain Beefheart across a surreal Smithsonian landscape. These are the years when Rolling Stone was both reporting the culture and helping shape its mythology.

The ads alone make this issue worthy of any collector’s shelf—Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman offered as a freebie on the subscription card, major label spreads from ATCO and Columbia, and that beautifully moody black-and-white ad for Pearl (still running strong months after Janis’ death). This is the kind of magazine where the editorial and the advertisements form a single cultural object—one that captures the moment with a kind of accidental perfection.

A strong Beefheart-cover issue with early Bowie, classic ads, and that unmistakable early-’70s RS energy—prime material for any serious vintage music collector.