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Creem
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Creem (whose trademark is capitalized CREEM), "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine", was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early '90s as a glossy tabloid. Lester Bangs, often cited as "America's Greatest Rock Critic", became editor in 1971.
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Encyclopedia
Creem (whose trademark is capitalized CREEM), "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine", was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early '90s as a glossy tabloid. Lester Bangs, often cited as "America's Greatest Rock Critic", became editor in 1971. The term "punk rock" was said to have been coined by the magazine in 1971, and the term "heavy metal" also first used in its pages.
History
Creem was based in Detroit, and later the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. Its separation from the entertainment industry in the United States afforded a certain irreverent, deprecatory and humorous tone that permeated the magazine. The magazine became famous for its comical photo captions, which poked fun at rock stars and the magazine itself. The location also meant it was among the first national publications to cover many popular local artists in any great depth, such as Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, Alice Cooper, The MC5, The Stooges, Iggy Pop, and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as other Midwestern acts such as The Raspberries and Cheap Trick.
Influence
Creem picked up on punk rock (which many claim the magazine, and especially Bangs, helped to conceptualize if not invent) and New Wave movements early on, years before other magazines like Rolling Stone. Creem gave massive exposure to artists like Lou Reed, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Blondie and The New York Dolls years before the mainstream press. In the '80s, it also led the pack on coverage of such upcoming rock icons as R.E.M., The Replacements, The Smiths and The Cure, among numerous others. It was also among the first to sing the praises of metal acts like Motörhead, Kiss, Judas Priest, and Van Halen. Kurt Cobain once stated to RIP Magazine that he had first learned about punk rock from reading Creem as an adolescent.
Staff
Editors and writers for Creem included Lester Bangs, founding co-editor Dave Marsh, Billy Altman, John Morthland, Ben Edmonds, Ed Ward, Richard Riegel, Ric Siegel, Robert Christgau, Richard Meltzer, Nick Tosches, Greil Marcus, Jeffrey Morgan, Richard C. Walls, Rob Tyner, Patti Smith, Cameron Crowe, Linda Barber, Charlie Auringer, Jaan Uhelszki, Penny Valentine, Susan Whitall, John "The Mad" Peck, Robot A. Hull, Edward Kelleher (aka, Edouard Dauphin), Rick Johnson, John Mendelssohn, Jon Young, Lisa Robinson, Vicki Arkoff, Deborah Frost, Cynthia Rose, Sylvie Simmons, Gregg Turner, Mark J. Norton, Dave DiMartino, Alan Niester, Bill Holdship and John Kordosh; the latter two edited the last versions of Creem in the late 1980s. The magazine moved its base of operations to Los Angeles shortly before it ceased publication. The CREEM logo was designed by Bob Wilson, who also wrote a regular comic strip, "Mike and Barney". The "Mr. Dreamwhip" and "Boy Howdy" icons were designed by Robert Crumb.
Holdship and Kordosh were both involved in Creems move to Los Angeles after it was purchased by Arnold Levitt, but both had already left the magazine before its move to New York City after Levitt licensed the name to a publisher there, and its ultimate demise. Steve Peters and David Sprague were the last members remaining in the original editorial chain that reached back to 1969.
Dispute
Robert Matheu, a regular Creem photographer since 1977, and his business partners, Ken Kulpa and Jason Turner, who together formed Creem Media, Inc. in 2001, led an online resurrection with a new staff.
There is currently a dispute being litigated between J.J. Kramer, New York-based lawyer and son of Creem founder Barry Kramer, and Creem Media, Inc. In October, 2007, Matheu and Brian J. Bowe, original managing editor of the Creem Website, compiled a Creem anthology book that was published by Harper Collins. There has been some controversy surrounding the book, although it has received numerous positive reviews.
External links
Austin Chronicle by Michael J. Kramer
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