Jann Wenner
A counterculture college dropout who harnessed the power of rock and roll to build a journalistic institution that defined generations.
Born 1946 (age 80)·American magazine founder·Birthday: January 7·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jann Wenner didn't just start a magazine; he bottled a cultural moment. At 21, using a borrowed $7,500, he and music critic Ralph Gleason launched Rolling Stone from a San Francisco warehouse. It was more than a music paper; it was a manifesto, treating rock and roll with the seriousness of politics and literature. Wenner had an unerring eye for talent, publishing Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism and Annie Leibovitz's intimate portraits, while his own interviews with figures like John Lennon became historic events. He positioned himself at the center of the world he chronicled, a savvy businessman in a rock star's clothing. His editorial vision expanded to shape the national conversation, but his unwavering belief that music and youth culture were the engines of social change remained the magazine's beating heart for decades.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jann was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jann Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Jann's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- He co-founded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, building it into the most influential publication covering music and youth culture for over half a century.
- He published Hunter S. Thompson's 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' in serialized form, launching gonzo journalism into the mainstream.
- He conducted a landmark 1970 interview with John Lennon that was later published as the book 'Lennon Remembers.'
- He was a founding inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and served as its chairman for many years.
Did You Know?
The name 'Rolling Stone' was inspired by the Bob Dylan song, the Muddy Waters blues tune, and the band The Rolling Stones.
He dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley, where he was involved in the Free Speech Movement.
He sold a controlling interest in Rolling Stone in 2017, ending his half-century reign.
He was expelled from a boarding school for selling beer to other students.
“We were not just about the music, we were about the things the music embraced.”
