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TEEN MAGAZINES:
(And The People Who Read Them)
by Pat Jacobs
Teen magazines were (and still are) aimed at teenage
readers and usually consisted of gossip, news, fashion
tips, interviews, and may include stickers and
posters.
They were first created in the U.S. and England during
the 1950s; teen “mags” are now produced in many
countries worldwide. They're particularly popular in
Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
While some focus almost exclusively on music and film
stars, others feature more coverage of lifestyle
issues and are like young versions of Cosmopolitan or
Vogue.
Teen mags are aimed almost exclusively at teenage
girls. Teenage boys, like adult men, usually buy
magazines related to certain activities that they're
interested in, such as sports or cars.Teen mags can be found each month at supermarkets,
pharmacies, stores, newsstands, and in recent years,
on the Internet.
Let's take a look at some classic ones: Seventeen
(which I believe is still around) debuted in 1944. The
first issue sold 400,000 copies. Celebrity interviews
and profiles were featured, but the main focus were
fashions and the teen lifestyle.
“I didn't get Seventeen at all; when I was twelve, my
mother got me a subscription to Ingenue, which was
like a junior version of Seventeen. I loved it!”
recalled Pamela Foster. “She wanted me to read and pay
particular attention to the 'girls becoming women' and
the 'feminine products' ads, but come on: If given a
choice between studying the latest Beatle article or a
'feminine product' ad, what are you going to focus on?
I also got In magazine at the local department or
music store. Ingenue had the better fashions, but In
had the best celebrity features!”
“I also had a subscription to a digest-sized magazine, Calling All Girls, which I received during, I believe,
1964 to 1966.” Also known as CAG, the magazine's nickname, this
publication debuted in 1941, 10 cents an issue. They
claim to be the first teen mag, and their logo was
'the favorite modern magazine of girls and sub-debs'.
CAG became Young Miss in 1966, then just YM in 1986.
Another account says that Seventeen was the oldest
girls' mag and that this was second. It also says the
magazine's size was increased and the title was
changed from Young Miss to Young & Modern, then Your
Magazine, but the abbreviation YM was still used and referred to.
“I remember a feature about the Johnson girls in the
White House (President Johnson's daughters, Lynda and
Luci), and The Supremes, also a feature on rising star
Sally Field, of the new TV series, "Gidget". There
were movie reviews of ”The World Of Henry Orient”,
“Island Of The Blue Dolphins”, “The Three Lives Of
Thomasina” and ”Emil and The Detectives”, among
others. There was a comic strip called ”Penny”, I
think, and a continuing feature on a group of friends
led by Polly, I think. I also enjoyed this magazine
very much!”
'Teen was another one I got sometimes, mostly for the
great pictures.”
16 set the standard for all teen fan mags for more
than 35 years, it has been the pinnacle of "teeny
bopper" publications.16 was started in 1958 by the late George Winters,
becoming such a hit that many imitators were spawned (Flip, Tiger Beat,
and Teen Beat, among others)
The contents were never about anything serious, but
that was precisely the point and charm of this
magazine. What was important to a teen then was
finding out Paul McCartney's favorite color, Sonny and
Cher's dating tips, Dave Clark's top 10 ice cream
flavors, or Mark Lindsay"s shoe size.
In the mid-'60s, the late
Gloria Stavers took over as
editor-in-chief. Stavers added full-color posters and
pin-ups. And made history.
"That was a HUGE selling point; those posters were
fabulous!", Pamela Foster further recalled. "The
Beatle ones
were to die for!"
For most of its 30 years, 16 was self-supporting, not
accepting any outside advertising from any source. At
its peak in the mid-'60s, the magazine had over 5
million readers. In 1964, a spinoff was launched, 16
Magazine Spectacular, later to be called 16 Spec. The
same formula was used; this one lasted into the
mid-'70s. 16 magazine has also put out at least 50
special editions.
Tiger Beat
was the West Coast competition of 16
magazine. Launched in Sept. 1965, it used the same
style and focus as 16 and has also had spinoffs and
special issues (Some of these were Tiger Beat Fave,
1967-1973; Tiger Beat Spectacular, 1970-1973; and
Tiger Beat Star, 1977-1990. Special issues included
the Tiger Beat Official Monkees Spectacular (16
issues) and Tiger Beat Official Partridge Family
Magazine (18 issues). Tiger Beat also published a
number of paperback books over the years.
The magazine's target focus has always been
10-19-year-old girls, giving them the latest in music,
movies, and fashion. "You know, I never got into this
magazine", said Foster. "It was OK, but there were
others, particularly 16, that I liked so much better."
Did you know that there was a picture of Lloyd Thaxton
(host of a very popular syndicated dance party TV
program, "The Lloyd Thaxton Show") on each issue
during Tiger Beat's first year? The publishers thought
it was a good tie-in for the new publication. This
ended when Thaxton decided to leave his TV show; his
logo, "Lloyd Thaxton's Tiger Beat" and picture were
removed from the cover after 12 issues. The teen mag
became just Tiger Beat. The early issues featured all
kinds of rock and pop performers, and there was a
monthly feature called Mod Mag", about the
British
Invasion.
The magazine came into its own in the late '60s,
thanks largely to
The Monkees. There was huge interest
in the group upon the smash debut of their TV series.
And publisher
Charles Lauffer
recognized this and
acted upon it by signing an exclusive merchandising
deal. Several Monkees-only magazines and pamphlets
were published during the show's run.
Flip was started to compete with the other teen mags
of the day. It was also very similar in style and
content to 16 and Tiger Beat.
Circus got its start this year, 1966, as
Hullabaloo
Magazine. It became Circus in March 1969 (Jimi Hendrix
made the first cover).
In its first 15 years, this magazine also featured
full color, pull-out centerfold posters. Many top
writers of the rock-and-roll era provided articles for
the first 10 years, including Kurt Loder (now of MTV
fame) and Rolling Stone regular Dave Marsh.
Circus spun off many special issues, publications, and
books (Circus Raves, 1974-this only lasted for two and
a half years. Special issues included Circus Pin-Ups
(1975) and Circus Solid Gold (1978), and three 1975
paperback books on Alice Cooper, Elton John, and
Robert Plant, in that order. At the end of 1983,
Circus covered the heavy metal music scene. In 1992,
it focused on Seattle and alternative music.
Soul magazine was also launched in 1966. This may well
have been the first teen mag aimed at blacks. There
were great color and black-and-white pics of the stars
of the day, and profiles of up-and-coming artists.
"I only saw just one issue of this;
The Ronettes were
on the cover, dressed in Santa Claus outfits, with
mini-skirts and white go-go boots. No beards! They
looked fantastic!", Foster recalled. "Inside, I
remember a picture of Jean Carn and Robert Parker, who
had a big hit with "Barefootin' this year. He was in a
suit, on stage, dancing barefooted! I never saw this
magazine again, though."
In 1972, two mainstream teen mags aimed at blacks
debuted, Right On (by the Tiger Beat publishers) and
Word Up.
And then there were the music magazines that took rock
music seriously, aimed more for older teens, college
kids, and "hip" adults. No pin-ups here!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock music
criticism, a pioneer of rock music journalism,
preceding even Rolling Stone and Creem. Started on the
campus of Swarthmore College this year, 1966, by Paul
Williams, a science fiction fan who also liked rock
music. At 17, he started mimeographing and
distributing a collection of criticisms, at first
mostly his own. The budding publication (with a healthy
dose of radical views and politics mixed in with
music) quickly took hold, gaining newstand
distribution and providing a training ground for many
rock writers (this was a brand new field in the late
'60s), including Jon Landau, Sandy Pearlman, and
others. Williams left the magazine in 1968; the
magazine briefly suspended publication in 1969, but
returned in 1970 with national mass-market
distribution. And it continued throughout the '70s
decade (Williams contributed articles from time to
time. He also went on to write over 25 books.)
Creem, founded in 1968, covered the music scene with a
great writers, star interviews, book reviews, record
reviews, and "think" pieces. This was considered a
classy, distinctive magazine, one of the best. "I'll
have to take your word for it; to be honest, I was
more concerned with those 16 magazine posters", said
Foster.
Guitar Player was launched in 1967, and focused on
rock music's guitarists. The articles were written
from a musician's point of view. There were also tips
on how to play better, and all things related to the
rock guitar.
Billboard was started in 1894! and is considered the
Bible of the music industry. This is the home of the
"Hot 100", the "Album Charts", and other goodies. If
you want to know what's going in the music business,
this is THE source.
And then there's Rolling Stone, launched in 1967 and
considered the granddaddy of rock publications. (John
Lennon graced the first cover.) Its founders, Jann
Wenner and Ralph P. Gleason, intended Rolling Stone to
be a combination of a rock newspaper and a magazine.
It's become a standard-bearer, with top-notch writers,
award-winning photographers, and insightful,
hard-hitting stories; to be on the cover is considered
a great honor. Many regard it as the finest music
publication of the 20th century. "Wow, really"?
There's also many who would argue that 16 was the
best", replied Foster.
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