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An Insightful and delicious salute to Circus Magazine ...
A New Mystery Novel - The Golem Code by Gerald Rothberg. Click To Read Preview Chapter
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Rock and Roll Music, and Rock Bands. A Forty Year Journey.
Some Classic Circus Magazine Covers. Left, Led Zep; center Kiss; right, Def Leppard.
Memoirs and Misadventures.
Rock Music's Legendary Circus Magazine
By Gerald Rothberg, Editor/Publisher Circus Magazine
First Circus Mag Weekly Edition Featured The Beatles.
Rolling
Weekly Into The Good Night:I've never started a story in the beginning, it seems. So these remembrances of Circus Magazine will start, say a decade into its founding. It was then that I got the idea, of taking the rock 'n roll rag, weekly. As it turned out, not a brilliant idea. What we had begun
to build up as a definitive rag of hard rock, morphed into editions with Miss Piggy in a centerfold, and New York Yankee infielder, Bucky Dent on a cover of one edition.
But this idea wasn't all off the wall, as the issue above will attest. This weekly edition dated February 18, 1979, featured sex educational articles pertinent for teenagers, music articles, a point of view piece about Elvis Costello leaving the New Wave music movement, the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, and rock and roll, with AC/DC, Foreigner, Led Zeppelin and more . It was my convoluted attempt, though I didn't realize it at the time to develop a publication within Rock and Roll music that was informative, entertaining, newsy and educational, all at once. Yikes!
Early Commercial for Circus Magazine
If blending rock and roll music and pop culture weren't tough enough, keeping a staff together and in sync was rougher. A whole new group of freelancers was necessary, at once breaking into a bond .with the music staff and the non-music freelancers. The new writers were Fred Schreurs, brought in by George Nobbe, and Al Aronowitz. formerly a Life Magazine writer. At the desk in the office was Carl Arrington from People Magazine and Mark Mehler from Billboard. and Robert Smith, Kurt Loder and freelance work of David Fricke. Sounds good? Yes, if you think Mount Vesuvius erupting is a docile noise.
Trouble came not with clash of personalities, or turf wars, but from unexpected ends. Well, I never saw it coming. Foremost on my mind at the time was to get recognition from post office and the printing company that we are a weekly magazine to be reckoned with. And, all the whistles and bells of smooth and fast transit should be awarded to Circus Magazine Weekly. Stay Tuned. To be continued. ...
Circus Magazine in the
Press
Wow!
We were much delighted to read editor in chief A.J.Daulerio's thoughtful
piece about Circus Mag on
DeadSpin.com.
A.J.'s writing is both forceful and provocative and was greatly appreciated.
Thank you A.J. Hey readers, check the article out. Let me add this, the
website is a trip - one which you'll enjoy. GR
The first magazine
subscription I ever had was to this tawdry rock magazine, filled with sweaty
images of heavy metal heroes, which completely ruined my obsession with
sports. It was a Christmas gift from my parents. They regretted it soon
after, when in January 1984, my posters of Moses Malone and Mike Schmidt
were soon surrounded by crude cut-outs of a bleeding Mick Mars, an assless-chapped
Chris Holmes, and George Lynch. My parents were concerned, mind you, as many
...
Click here to read A.J.'s entire article on Deadspin.com.
A Love Letter To
Circus,
The Magazine That Made Me Dirty
