A long lead into press time can cause severe problems when events come thick and fast. The Rolling Stone issue dated 27 December 1969 had a front cover picture of Mick Jagger headlined: “The Stones’ Grand Finale”. The lead story inside – “Free Rolling Stones: It’s Going To Happen” – detailed the scramble to find a venue for the western Woodstock: San Francisco’s chance to show the world how free festivals were really done.
By the time the issue hit the stands the concert had been and gone. The disaster at Altamont – a vicious murder in plain sight, many injuries, drug-saturated chaos – presented Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner with a serious dilemma. His relationship with Jagger was already fraught: the group had threatened to sue for the magazine’s use of their name, and a peacemaking agreement to publish a Jagger-sponsored UK edition had dissolved in acrimony.
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