''Circus'' was a monthly American magazine devoted to

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. It was published from October 1966 to May 2006. The magazine had a full-time editorial staff that were prolific in

rock journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, such as Paul Nelson, Judy Wieder,

David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...

, and

Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...

. It rivaled ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' in sales and surpassed ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential crit ...

''. In 1974, a sister publication was launched, titled ''Circus Raves'', and by 1977 that venture had been merged into ''Circus'' magazine, making ''Circus'' a biweekly publication. Gerald Rothberg originally published the magazine under the name ''Hullabaloo'' in 1966 (23 issues), before changing the name to ''Circus'' in 1969. In its early years it covered hard rock acts like

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

and

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

. Patti Smith wrote for ''Circus'', as did her bandmate Lenny Kaye. Rock critic Kurt Loder was also a contributor, as was

Lance Loud Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud (June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001) was an American television personality, magazine columnist, and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in ''An American Family'', a pionee ...

of An American Family fame. A ''Circus'' reader could look forward to music reviews penned by Ed Naha, whose entire review of an album by the German rock group Can consisted of exactly one word: "Can’t". Despite the era’s printing constraints, the magazine included high-quality color photography. In 1971

Howard Bloom Howard Bloom (born June 25, 1943) is an American author. He was a music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for singers and bands such as Prince, Billy Joel, and Styx.People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...

.'' The magazine gradually shifted to heavy metal acts in the early and mid-1980s, then began focusing coverage on

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

groups like Bon Jovi and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

in the mid-to-late 1980s. As the 1990s progressed, Rothberg changed the longtime design and

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

of the magazine, reduced the staff complement, and made use of freelance writers. It was during this period that Rothberg was attacked in the Guns N' Roses song "

Get in the Ring "Get in the Ring" is the fifth song on the Guns N' Roses album '' Use Your Illusion II''. Written by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Slash, it is a diss track directed at music critics. Mentioned by name are critics from ''Hit Parader'' (Andy Secher ...

". Before the magazine was ceased publication in May 2006, ''Circus'' covered contemporary heavy metal, competing against magazines like ''

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-of ...

''and ''

Hit Parader ''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...

''.

References

External links

A History of ''Circus'' magazine
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511070542/http://rockcriticsarchives.com/features/circus/circus-intro.html , date=2010-05-11
Blog on ''Circus'' ending
Monthly magazines published in the United States Music magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Heavy metal publications Magazines established in 1966 Magazines disestablished in 2006 Weekly magazines published in the United States Biweekly magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City