The following mini-histories will give you more background for some of the most popular (and enduring) U.S. music magazines. We drew this information from a larger history of music mags that we compiled and wrote at the request of the All Music Guide people several years ago. (Dates listed indicate dates that the magazines are/were published,and are not necessarily representative of our current holdings.)

Backstreets (Dedicated To Bruce Springsteen) -- 1980 to Present     

This excellent fanzine about the "Boss" from Asbury Park, New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen, is published by Backstreet Publishing, in Seattle, Washington. The publisher is Charles Cross, noted Bruce authority, who has written several well-regarded books on the rocker. Cross is also the publisher/founder of the Seattle's outstanding music monthly, The Rocket. Like most fanzines, Backstreets approaches its subject with (sometimes fanatical) love. This magazine is for those who think the heart of rock & roll is still beating in New Jersey. If you love the Boss, you'll love Backstreets.

Billboard -- 1894 to Present                   

Many people know Billboard magazine is the Bible of the Music Industry, the place to go for such essential "charts" as the Hot 100 Singles, the Billboard 200 Album Chart, and the Power Playlist from more than 30 top radio stations. But few consumers are probably aware that Billboard is more than 100 years old. This is the place to go if you want to know what the movers and shakers, the people behind the sounds, are up to, and what they're planning. Billboard is also the place to read many of the first reviews published on new releases as well as up and coming artists. Over the years, Billboard has done many special issues paying tribute to some of the world's greatest performers; these issues are gems worth saving. Some of the artists saluted include Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Gloria Estefan, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and many more.

Circus Magazine (Originally Hullabaloo) --1966 to Present  

Circus is a classic pop magazine which has gone through numerous changes in focus over the past four decades. It got its start at the height of the British Invasion, in 1966, as Hullabaloo magazine. Founded by Gerald Rothberg, who remains the publisher/editor-in-chief more than 30 years later, Hullabaloo became Circus in March of 1969. Jimi Hendrix graced that first cover. In its initial 15 years the mag was famous for full color, pull-out centerfold posters, many of which are desirable collectibles. Top writers of the rock & roll era provided the articles in the first 10 years -- including Rolling Stone regular Dave Marsh, Lenny Kaye, Kurt Loder (now of MTV fame), David Fricke, Mark Mehler, Lou O'Neill Jr., and Jim Bessman. Circus spawned many special issues, publications, and books. In 1974, a sister publication Circus Raves was added to the stable, albeit only for two and a half years. The Circus special issues Circus Pin-Ups (1975) and Circus Solid Gold (1978), and the three paperbacks Circus published in 1975 on Alice Cooper, Elton John, and Robert Plant, respectively, are also highly sought-after today. At the end of 1983, Circus made a sea change and began catering to the growing heavy metal music scene. In 1992, Circus altered direction once again, to focus on the growing Seattle Music Scene (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc), adopting its present slant toward "alternative music."

Country Song Roundup -- 1947 to Present                   

Founded way back in 1947, by Charlton Publications, this stalwart is still published today by it's new owners (since 1991) in Poughkeepsie NY. Interestingly, Country Song Roundup was started as the "hillbilly" version of the more mainstream-pop successes: Hit Parader and Song Hits. Every issue was packed with articles on the popular singers of the day. In the early issues, the subjects were Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. In later years, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks and their contemporaries garnered the headlines. A key feature of the magazine until only a few years ago was the publication of the lyrics to many country favorites. Changes to the magazine over time have included a much more indept approach to feature writing, and, of course, the introduction of full color spreads. The new editors of Country Song Roundup have done a good job of making the publication fun, and informative for country music fans.

Crawdaddy! -- 1966-1978 (as Crawdaddy Feature 1979)       

A true legend among rock mags, the New York City-based Crawdaddy!'s first 14 issues were printed on an old mimeograph machine. Needless to say, those issues are very scarce, and very valuable (though they sold for 50 cents an issue when first published, they can go for anywhere from $50 to $100, depending the cover-art subject, condition, and circumstance). Crawdaddy differed from other magazines of its era in that it took rock 'n' roll very seriously. In its first few years, it tended to focus on politics and the radical views of the time. Each issue contained a number of music articles and interviews, as well as many ads for new albums. Crawdaddy contained raw-edged writing by the likes of Paul Krassner, Abbie Hoffman, (author) Peter Guralnick, and of course, editors (and well-known rock authors) Paul Williams and Peter Knobler. In January of 1979, in the interest of "keeping up with the times" the magazine changed its look and gave itself a new name, becoming Crawdaddy Feature. The magazine described itself as the magazine that captured the look and feel of the '80s: covering personalities, politics, and pop music. Unfortunately, Crawdaddy Feature was not as successful as its precursor, and did not survive into the 1980s. It ceased publication after only five issues, in May of 1979.

Creem -- 1968-88 and 1990-94             

This legendary rock publication was founded and published by Barry Kramer in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Creem set out to cover the music and cultural scene with style and distinction. It succeeded. Creem certainly had the cream of the country's rock writers: Robert Christgau (who pioneered rating records with A to F ratings, like school report cards), Greil Marcus and Dave Marsh (respected authors, both of Rolling Stone fame), and of course probably the funniest and most prolific rock 'n' roll writer of our time, the late Lester Bangs (if you haven't read his collection of writings, Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, you really should). With all this talent under one banner, Creem really covered the cultural bases. It did in-depth articles on the hottest bands, and star interviews, of course. But there were also penetrating book reviews, record reviews, movie reviews, and "think" pieces. In its later years, two of the more fun features were the one-page Creem profile and Creem Dream. Up and coming artists done in a fun tongue-in-cheek (ripoff of liquor ads) style, including the legendary Boy-Howdy trademark Barry Kramer published Creem until his death in 1981. Kramer had a real sense of humor, and the magazine reported that it killed him. Allegedly, he died in a car with a friend from over inhalation of nitrous oxide (laughing gas). In 1982, it was sold to another company in Los Angeles. It continued to be a fine magazine, , but was never quite the same again. In 1988, Creem ceased publication. It was revived for about 18 months by a new company, Alternative Media, in August of 1990. Over the years, Creem put out scores of special issues and spinoffs, including: Creem Close-Up, Creem Presents, Creem Special Edition, and Creem Rock Shots.

Down Beat Magazine -- 1934 to Present       

Now in its seventh decade, Down Beat is without a doubt the Bible of jazz music. In its early years, Down Beat covered the big-band era, but as the jazz scene and the birth of bebop came along, Down Beat was there to cover it all. Down Beat has written about every legendary jazz artist you can think of, from Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, to Pat Metheney and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, from Miles Davis to Kenny G. Besides its first-rate articles on the world's greatest musicians, one of the great regular features that has been published for many years are the Blindfold Tests. Periodically, a well-known musician is played a series of records, without being told the artist, and is asked to identify the artist by listening to one cut. The scholarly commentary provided by the listening artist is always enlightening. Down Beat continues to be an important voice for the jazz community.

Flip -- 1960 to 1970s                              

Started to compete with the other teen-pop-fan magazines of its era (16, Tiger Beat, Teen, etc.), Flip filled the pages between its covers with facts, photos, pin-ups, and every detail you might or might not want to know about your teen favorites. Most interesting, any given issue of Flip could cover 20 different artists without achieving much depth on any of them. But, boy, were the photo spreads and true-fanzine attitude cool! In its early years, the magazine covered top bands such as the Dave Clark Five, Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and Yardbirds, in groovy spreads. In the '70s, however, Flip, like most teen magazines of the era, moved into the teeny-bopper/heartthrob biz with the likes of Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, Donny Osmond, Sajid Kahn, and (TV's) Dark Shadows stars. Kitsch and cool, Flip's well worth collecting today.

Goldmine Magazine -- 1975 to Present              

This undisputed Bible of the record/CD collecting world, this mag was founded by Brian Bukantis (who publishes Movie Collectors World). The publisher is Krause (pronounced craow-zee) Publications, which started out with a small coin-collecting one-sheet in the early '50s. In the U.S., Goldmine is required reading for anyone who is serious about music collecting. Each issue features articles and discographies on many recording artists of the past 40 years .A real bonus for the reader is that many of the super-extensive artist features are written by serious, hardcore collectors of that particular artist, assuring deep detail and accuracy in the information (and making for some great star pictures and obscure record cover graphics). Goldmine also does a splendid job of covering artists you don't usually read much about in current-day music publications. Just a few of the artists Goldmine has featured in real depth include Elvis, the Beatles, the Monkees, John Lee Hooker, Sam Cooke, Commander Cody, and Queen. If you like to collect music of any kind, this magazine is a must. And it contains pages and pages of ads offering many hard-to-find records, CDs, and promos. C-Bub Productions is also proud to announce that we are the official supplier for Goldmine magazine for all back issues.

Guitar Player -- 1967 to Present            

In Guitar Player's 31-year history, virtually every great guitarist in the world has been featured on its cover or in its pages. Just a few of the legends who have graced the covers of Guitar Player are Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul, Andres Segovia, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, Eric Clapton, and countless others. Guitar Player writes articles from a musician's point of view. Included are inside tips from the masters on how to play better, as well as guitar "tablature" transcriptions. One of the great Guitar Player features in the 1980s were the flexi-disc, thin plastic record "Soundpages" that were placed in the magazine, containing music such as unreleased recordings by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Sometimes these were instructional records. Many guitar magazines have come on the scene in the last 10 years, but Guitar Player remains the originator and the innovator for guitar players.

Hit Parader -- 1943 to Present                

Started by Charlton Publication Inc., this is one of the oldest continually published music magazines in world (after Song Hits, Billboard, and Down Beat).From its inception until about 1975 (when it became too expensive to license the rights), it published the lyrics to many popular songs of the time. Over the years, the biggest stars appeared on the cover of Hit Parader, from Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, to Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Motley Crue and Nirvana. Printed on newspaper stock (with a glossy cover) until the 1980s, this mag contained many small feature articles about your favorite artists. Hit Parader's publisher, Charlton, located in tiny Derby, Connecticut, was a true music-mag empire. They put out numerous popular titles, including Country Song Round-Up, Song Hits, and Smash Hits. Hit Parader was sold in 1991, when Charlton ran into financial troubles and folded. Over the years, Hit Parader published more than 30 different titles and special issues; many were spinoff magazines that were published for a year or so; some were only one issue. The specials included: Hit Parader Yearbook (published every year, 1965-1980); Hit Parader Annual (published every year, '60s to present) ; Hit Parader Heavy Metal Heroes (published 1985-1989); Hit Parader Heavy Metal Hot Shots (published 1984-1989); Hit Parader Songs and Stories (1972-1977). Since 1984, the magazine, like so many other music publications, caters largely to hard rock and heavy metal fans.

Musician -- 1976 to Present                     

Published by Billboard Publications, Musician leans toward well-written and intelligent features, and fascinating, in-depth interviews with such elusive stars as Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Steely Dan, and John Fogerty. In its early years, the magazine tended to cover the world of jazz and included interviews with Herbie Hancock and George Benson. However, it quickly embraced other forms, such as pop, rock, reggae, soul, and rap. "Forgotten" artists have also been profiled, including (the July 1991 article) on folk cult hero Tim Buckley. That particular article was so powerful and moving it caused many readers to take another look at the late Buckley (father of the late Jeff Buckley) and introduced him to a new generation which had never heard his fine legacy of music. This is, truly, one of the better American music magazines.

Rock Scene -- 1973-82 and 1985-96                   

This underground fave described itself as the alternative to the alternatives. Rock Scene, as the name implied, covered music "scenes": in New York, London, and elsewhere around the world. Staff writers included well-knowns such as Lenny Kaye (rock critic/producer and guitarist for the Patti Smith Band), Lisa Robinson (renowned rock author and critic), and Lillian Roxon (founder and writer of what may be the finest rock encyclopedia ever assembled). However, even with Rock Scene's fine writers, the emphasis tended toward photo spreads of the scenes and happenings of the time. Coverage often focused on the interesting crossroads of the New York emerging scenes of punk and new wave. Rock Scene has lots of coverage of Patti Smith, the Ramones, Dictators, and Sex Pistols. The layouts are graphically exciting. The magazine ceased publication in 1983, but did put out some special issues, including Best Of Rock Scene. When it came back briefly, in the late '80s, the magazine focuses -- like so many -- on heavy metal.

Rolling Stone Magazine -- 1967 to Present         

This, of course, is the grandaddy of rock publications. Rolling Stone published its first issue (John Lennon appeared on the cover in World War I "doughboy" helmet from the film, How I Won the War) on November 9, 1967. Jann Wenner, who founded Rolling Stone with Ralph J. Gleason, described the magazine best in A Letter From The Editor in the first issue. Here is what he said: "You're probably wondering what we are trying to do. It's hard to say: sort of a magazine and sort of a newspaper. The name of it is Rolling Stone, which comes from an old saying: 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' Muddy Waters used the name for a song he wrote; The Rolling Stones took their name from Muddy's song, and 'Like A Rolling Stone' was the title of Bob Dylan's first rock and roll record. We have begun a new publication reflecting what we see are the changes related to rock and roll. Because the trade papers have become so inaccurate and irrelevant, and because the fan magazines are an anachronism, fashioned in the mold of myth and nonsense, we hope that we have something here for the artist and industry, and every person who 'believes in the magic that can set you free.' Rolling Stone is not just about music, but also about the things and attitudes that the music embraces. We've been working quite hard on it and we hope you can dig it. To describe it any further would be difficult without sounding like bullshit, and bullshit is like gathering moss." Little did Jann Wenner know when he wrote these words that he was beginning an institution that would touch the lives of many people over the next quarter century. Rolling Stone has gone through a number of format changes over the years (from a 24-page newspaper in its early days to a larger bi-fold newspaper until 1973, when it became a tabloid-size newspaper. In 1981, Stone switched to a magazine format. Though still printed on newsprint stock until 1985, it then adopted the glossy magazine look it retains today.) Rolling Stone will probably continue to be the quintessential music magazine long into the next century. It sets the standard which most other music mags try to imitate. To be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine was a great honor. It inspired one band, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, to record a hit song, "The Cover of Rolling Stone," which placed them on the cover in early 1973. Rolling Stone contains articles, interviews, hard-hitting social and political stories, and of course reviews of new releases. It has been a magnet for the best rock writers in the industry, including (the pre-Hollywood) Joe Eszterhas, Ben Fong Torres, Chet Flippo, (now film director) Cameron Crowe, the Reverend Charles M. Young, John Morthland, and the madman gonzo journalist himself, Hunter S. Thompson (whose "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" first appeared -- along with Ralph Steadman's ink-blot illustrations -- in the magazine's pages.) Rolling Stone also set the standard for photography with award-winning shooters such as Baron Wolman and Annie Liebowitz. Rolling Stone is without any doubt the finest music and culture magazine of the 20th century.

16 Magazine -- 1958 to Present                  

The late George Winters created this beauty, which for more than 35 years has been the pinnacle of teeny bopper print. Many imitators have popped up over the years, forcing 16 Magazine to withstand some pretty stiff competition. However, =16= Magazine has remained true to its beginnings. If you are looking for real serious interviews and top-notch writing, keep going. If you want to know what the Monkees' Davy Jones' favorite food is, or Gene Simmons' shoe size, or Debbie Gibson or Alyssa Milano's tips on dating, then 16 Magazine is the place for you. In the mid-'60s, the late, great Gloria Stavers took over as editor-in-chief. Ms. Stavers added full-color pin-ups that readers pulled out and lovingly hung on their walls. Probably the most fascinating thing about the magazine is that it remained self-supportive. Despite the fact that it could have hawked an awful lot of pimple cream, for most of its first 30 years it staunchly refused to accept outside advertising from any source (just like Mad). At 16 Magazine's peak, in the mid-'60s, it boasted more than 5 million teen readers. In 1964, its publishers launched 16 Magazine Spectacular, later to be called 16 Spec. This magazine used the same formula with a different name, and lasted well into the mid-'70s. In the late 1970s, 16 decided it needed a magazine that would deal more with hard rock and pop music. In 1979, it launched 16 RockLine! This title lasted through most of the 1980s. 16 Magazine has put out no less than 50 special editions, with subjects ranging from the Beatles to TV's Tattle Tales. '

Spin -- 1985 to Present                        

This color feature and review magazine is, of course, published out of New York by Bob Guccione Jr. (son of Bob Guccione, founder and publisher of Penthouse, Omni, and Longevity). Spin seeks to cover the cutting-edge and alternative music scene. It has an impressive writing staff; just a few of the contributing editors have included (late novelist-screenwriter) Terry Southern, (beat novelist cult figure) William S. Burroughs, Jim Fouratt, Jim Bessman, and Lisa Robinson. The subjects are generally the movers and shakers of the MTV generation. Much like Rolling Stone, Spin features a monthly interview, record reviews, and concert listings and reviews. Spin also has a very political edge, devoting space in previous issues to causes such as Amnesty International and AIDS. In 1988, Spin magazine made the unprecedented move of placing a condom in each and every issue to promote safe sex. In 1997, the magazine was sold in a joint venture to music producer Quincy Jones and the Time Warner company. Spin continues to delight young readers looking for something different.

Tiger Beat -- 1965 to Present                  

Founded by Laufer Publishing, Tiger Beat was the West Coast competition of 16 Magazine. Using very much the same style and focus as 16, Tiger Beat captured a generation of youth with articles and great photos of the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, Sonny & Cher, the Beatles, the Monkees, and David Cassidy. Since Tiger Beat's editorial offices were on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, it also covered many TV heartthrobs such as Bobby Sherman, Michael Cole, Leif Garrett, and Rick Springfield. Tiger Beat, like 16, has done remarkably well in withstanding the test of (changing) time. It has also had its share of spinoff magazines and special issues. Some of the spinoffs were Tiger Beat Fave, founded in 1967 and published until 1973; Tiger Beat Spectacular (1970-1973), and Tiger Beat Star (1977-1990). Specials such as the Tiger Beat Official Monkees Spectacular (16 issues) andTiger Beat Official Partridge Family Magazine (18 issues) are highly sought-after collectibles today. Also, Tiger Beat published a number of paperback books over the years; many people are still looking for these today.

Trouser Press -- 1974 to 1983                  

Founded by Ira A. Robbins, the magazine's original title was Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press. Published in New York City, Trouser Press called itself "America's Only British Rock Magazine." Trouser was originally published every other month. Its early issues, like Crawdaddy, were produced on a mimeograph machine. Trouser could not even afford to pay its writers for the first 25 issues, but somehow good writers came and wrote. Trouser Press became the most important magazine covering the British music scene in the '70s, until it ceased publication in 1983. As well as its excellent articles, interviews, and record reviews, Trouser Press was the first magazine ever to cater to record collectors, even before Goldmine. Trouser had a whole advertising section dedicated to collectible records and record auctions.Without Trouser Press, the new wave and punk scenes (Sex Pistols, Police, Bryan Ferry, Sparks, Spandau Ballet, Blondie, Ramones, Elvis Costello, etc.) might never have been covered in America. Trouser Press has also published an outstanding series of books called the Trouser Press Guide to Records (now in its fourth, updated edition).