Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir, Jann S Wenner, September 13, 2022.

 Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir, Jann S Wenner, September 13, 2022. 

Part One: Beginnings

Chapter 1 -- Rainbow Road
Great chapter
Great Family History --  

Rainbow Road;rural suburbs of San Rafael, CA -- county seat, Marin County

Ruth Naomi "Sim" Simmons
Edward Wenner

Originally NYC

US military during WWII -- stateside
she: New Orleans, a quartermaster, US Navy
he: Lt, Monroe, LA -- Army Air Corps; taught pilots how to bomb targets

Married, 1943 -- NYC

Jann b. January 7, 1946.

At the edge of the generation that would become:

• the largest,
• the best educated,
• the wealthiest
• in American history.

In NYC, his pediatrician -- Dr Spock.

Parents started a company in the Bay Area -- BABY FORMULAS

custom-made bottles of formulas for Bay Area hospitals

Two sisters:

• Kate, b. 1947;
• Martha, b. 1949

Jann was a problem child; expelled from school early on, twice 

His parents, with others, founded Marin Country Day -- private school

Summer camp: Camp Lagunitas -- rented later by the Grateful Dead; link to Camp Lagunitas.

Mother: Democrat activist; with Alan Cranston

• ultimately led to Pat Brown, Jerry Brown

First record player he recalls: 78 rpm GARRARD!!

BABY FORMULAS: ultimately 90% of all babies within 125 miles of San Francisco hospitals -- p. 9

Mentioned Robert Heinlein -- p. 9

1959, seventh grade; parents pull him out of school -- will move to Los Angeles; enroll in private school. 

 Chapter Two 
The School On The Hill

 The Chadwick School: link here.

Palos Verdes Peninsula
founders had lived in San Pedro, CA
called the Hill

Located between two wealthy neighborhoods, between:
Palos Verdes Estates, and
Rolling Hills (where Mayumi's close friends Ray Jennie Jing.

Parents divorce.

Jann is accepted to UC-Berkeley; not accepted by Harvard.

Chapter Three
Berkeley

 Freshman
the following summer, 1964 -- "discovers" the Beatles

So, Jann Wenner, my almost exact contemporary but being older by five years (born 1946), he was a generation older than I -- 
the Beatles, Vietnam War, etc., during his coming of age years, just after graduating from high school and starting college at Berkeley -- meanwhile -- I was still in middle school, transitioning to high school.

 JFK assassination.

Joan Baez singing a Bob Dylan song.

Drugs, the Merry Pranksters, Denise Kaufman.

Remember, this kid had two multi-millionaires for parents -- well, at lease his father, not sure how much money his mom had -- see next chapter -- too much money; spaced out on LSD and marijuana.

Every 60's rock band you ever heard of was mentioned in that chapter, it seemed.

FSM: Free Speech Movement. 

Chapter Five
London Calling

A very short chapter. Felt he had to leave Berkely. 

Failed three of five finals for his junior and left his junior year as a sophomore. Nothing held him to Berkeley any more; he had broken up Denise Kaufman and felt drugs did not mix with music and what he wanted to do.

Booked a flight to London; discount flight.

Before flying to London, stopped to see his sister. Flew stand-by to Denver; hitchhiked to Carbondale, near Aspen.

Visited father, new wife, in St Louis on way to London.

Page 43, the Yardbirds, "9 1/2."

Denise shows up again, and now they decide to get married. She was only 20 and still taking LSD regularly.

Listening to the Beatles' Revolver over and over and over again.

Denise parents had Denise committed to psych hospital.

She was the first woman to ever form an all-girl rock-and-all band, Ace of Cups.

Opportunity to sign on with Ramparts as a reporter for a music magazine.

Chapter Six
Jane

Ramparts. Jann sighned on as "employee #1." c

 

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