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The ultimate inside account of 50 years of rock’n’roll excess from Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone and one of the best connected men of the twentieth century
You’ve heard the controversy, now read the book:
Sticky Fingers is Joe Hagan’s pulsing account of 50 years of rock’n’roll excess from Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine and one of the best-connected men of the twentieth century. Featuring exclusive interviews with Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Wolfe, Bette Midler and many more, Hagan’s book captures the spirit of the age and paints an unforgettable portrait of one of the most significant cultural forces of our time.
“A sprawling rollercoaster of a book – insightful, revelatory, sometimes lurid, and never less than utterly compelling”
the Telegraph
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“Offers a fascinating insight into the relationship between Wenner, his writers and some of the most storied musicians and celebrities of the late 20th century”
guardian
“One of the music books of the year”
mail On Sunday
“A surprisingly honest portrait of a controversial rock publisher … The pages sizzle with the sex and drug-fuelled tales of Hunter Thompson, Annie Leibovitz and Joe Eszterhas. Yet, the through-line remains the complex relationship between Jann and Jane Wenner … a profile with real bite”
mojo
“Overflowing with sex, drugs and John Lennon’s wrath … the wildest story he never printed - his own”
gq
Joe Hagan
Joe Hagan has written for New York, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He has published long-form profiles and investigative exposés of some of the most significant figures and subjects of our time, including Hillary Clinton (her first post-secretary of state interview), Karl Rove, the Bush family, Henry Kissinger, Dan Rather, Goldman Sachs, The New York Times, and Twitter. He lives with his family in Tivoli, New York.
@joehagansays | joehagan.net
“Rolling Stone began in November 1967, with a photo of John Lennon on the first page and a subscription offer that included a roach clip. In his biography of its founder, Jann Wenner, Joe Hagan writes that the first issue “arrived on newsstands like a handshake”. Fifty years later, as the magazine industry continues to shrink, this excellent biography arrives like a eulogy – not for Wenner, who is 71 and still at it – but for the days when magazine journalism was adventurous and irreverent, muscular and confident rather than plagued by evidence of its own doom.”
Emily Witt
Guardian
“Terrifically smart and full of anecdotes that anyone remotely interested in rock and roll, publishing, or the legacy of the nineteen-sixties will find engrossing.”
New Yorker
“The relationship between biographer and subject can be notoriously tricky, filled with undefined expectations. But rarely does it come apart as dramatically as it has between Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner and the writer of his life, Joe Hagan… Sticky Fingers offers a fascinating insight into the relationship between Wenner, his writers and some of the most storied musicians and celebrities of the late 20th century.”
Guardian
“Jann Wenner and his biographer are no longer on speaking terms… The comprehensive biography describes Mr. Wenner’s rise to moguldom, his symbiotic relationships with pop-culture legends and the evolution of Rolling Stone from scrappy underground rag to shiny entertainment-industry bible. It also excavates Mr. Wenner’s personal life, including his complicated homosexuality, drug use, sexual escapades, familial friction and frequent feuds…”
New York Times