One of the most well known and frequently recognized music magazines for decades has been Rolling Stone, which was founded in 1967. It has been famous for influencing the pop culture in the ’70s and turning into a mainstream, well-exposed publication. There is, however, another highly influential rock magazine that is finally getting its due diligence: Creem.
While Rolling Stone would do well to cease honoring itself with its countless book spinoffs and collections, the severely underrated Detroit publication Creem Magazine is long overdue for a tribute compilation of their own.
The reminiscent book, entitled “Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine,” features the best of the magazine’s immense archives of photos, illustrations and articles. Expertly compiled by editors Robert Matheu and Brian J. Bowe, it includes nearly 300 pages of eye-popping, colorful, glossy pages with the infamous “Boy Howdy!” profiles, Stars Cars spotlights, featured articles, selected interviews with memorable photographs and so much more.
Creem dubbed itself “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine” and was rampant through the ’70s and ’80s until its downfall in 1988. Its sole purpose was to stir up the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll and rally the faithful followers of the genre. They had a purpose, a goal and the audacity to publish the content and material that no one else dared to touch during that time period.
Its closest competitor was the aforementioned Rolling Stone magazine, which also featured some “rock” at times, but when compared to Creem, it was considered fairly safe and sometimes too political. For some, rock ‘n’ roll was just another form of music, but in Detroit, Creem’s birthplace and hometown of its creator, it was a lifestyle and a culture. Creem employed an unforgettable array of writers of a broad literary and cultural scale with a first-rate sense of humor, including Robert Christgau, Dave Marsh, Patti Smith, Greil Marcus, the young Cameron Crowe and of course, the ruthless ramblings of Lester Bangs. In the Midwest, before Creem’s legacy began, rock music in the press was difficult to come by. There were, of course, other magazines that made attempts, but they fell short and were usually only publishing the record company propaganda and amateur photos. Creem provided all the intimate details one could hope for, as well as good pictures and interesting album and concert reviews, and topped it all off with irony and large amounts of scandalous humor. The writers and editors pushed the envelope and developed a magazine unlike any other at the time. This anthology of the innovative publication does not fall short and provides page after glossy page of all your favorite rock gods, including Pink Floyd, Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Led Zeppelin and MC5.
Whether you’ve never heard of this magazine before, or have been a diehard fan of its work and featured musicians for years, it provides something for everyone. It provokes nostalgia for those faithful to the legendary rock scene and offers truly great journalism for those just looking for a far-from-boring read.
Michelle Abbasciano can be reached at [email protected].
