Brand New Beat

How the iconic publication’s unconventional first decade rewrote the rules of journalism. 

Rolling Stone’s first decade was truly rock ‘n’ roll: chaotic, wild, and unpredictable. Brand New Beat charts the origins and evolution of the magazine during its formative early years in San Francisco. Founded in 1967 by a twenty-one-year-old college dropout, Rolling Stone and its editors were steeped in the Bay Area’s counterculture and viewed rock ‘n’ roll as the animating spirit of a social revolution. Reaching beyond music, the magazine delved into the tempestuous culture and politics of the time.

Acclaimed author Peter Richardson takes readers inside the iconic magazine during an era of legendary events, major cultural figures, and unforgettable music. Showing how Rolling Stone became a journalistic juggernaut—nurturing music-focused writers like Cameron Crowe, Lester Bangs, and Greil Marcus as well as New Journalism giants Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe—this book reveals how Rolling Stone both exemplified and critiqued the counterculture. More than just the definitive rock magazine, Rolling Stone leveraged the brand power of popular music to deliver groundbreaking coverage of historic events, setting a new standard for the next generation of American journalism.

Author Biography

Peter Richardson is author of Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road to Gonzo as well as critically acclaimed books about the Grateful Dead, Ramparts magazine, and radical author and editor Carey McWilliams. His essays appear in The Nation, The New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.