Bob Dylan releases his new album "Tempest" today, 50 years after the release of his first album.  Around that time, Gloria did a photo shoot with Bob in Central Park.  Here are a couple of pics from that day.  Congratulations, Bob!

On this day in 1967, The Doors and Tim Buckley performed in the gymnasium of The State University of New York at Stony Brook.  The audience of 3,000 people (800 over the venue's stated capacity) included Gloria Stavers, who shot these photos of Jim Morrison.  

In the summer of '66, Danny Fields (the subject of the upcoming documentary "Danny Says") was managing editor at Datebook magazine. Danny was responsible for reprinting the London Evening Standard interview by Maureen Cleave in which John Lennon made the controversial "We're more popular than Jesus now" statement. 

Two days after Datebook hit the stands with another quote from the interview (" I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity.") on its cover, a furor erupted in the southern U.S. states and quickly escalated into bonfires of Beatles records, radio station bannings of their music, death threats, and Klu Klux Klan appearances at rallies outside of their concert venues. Under pressure, John Lennon apologized at a press conference, but the Beatles were so shaken that after their August 29 concert in San Francisco they never toured again.

Gloria immediately came to John's defense (and didn't miss an opportunity to take a swing at her competitors!)  Ironically, she later hired Danny Fields as her assistant in 1972, and he went on to become co-editor in chief (with Randi Reisfeld) when Gloria left 16 in 1975.

Gloria would be 85 years old today, and so it's a special day to remember a woman who contributed so significantly to our pop culture history and encouraged a generation of young people to pursue their dreams.  I am honored to share some insights about Gloria from someone who worked alongside her at 16 Magazine.  ~ Karen

"It's my opinion that Gloria's main goal as Editor-in-Chief of 16 Magazine was not to stroke her own ego through fame, prestige, or monetary reward.  That was never important to her.  But it meant the world to her that her readers understood that she cared for them, that they should be proud of who they were and that they should confidently bypass all obstacles when they set their own goals.  That they laugh, embrace life, always see the glass half-full, and learn from disappointment rather than feel defeated.  In her own way, she was essentially "if you read between her lines" one of the first woman libbers who wanted her "girls" to never stop reaching for the stars (literally, not figuratively) and never give up on themselves.  And given that there was no social media as there is today, she still managed to make her readers feel that they were all an active vocal part of a community whose only social media connection was 16 Magazine.  Gloria managed to make 16 Magazine the "glue" that kept her readers together.  And Gloria was very proud that she pulled that off.  I don't think anything she did in that respect was coincidental.  She was a remarkable woman, misunderstood by many because of her bold competitiveness, unending perseverance, and at times frightening abrasiveness when it came to business.  But underneath all that she was a warm, loving, compassionate person who marched very independently to her own drummer, by choice.  She was way ahead of her time, and in retrospect I think more and more people are realizing that."

 - Mimi Gitterman Zizza Menendez

Mimi was Gloria Stavers' secretary at 16 Magazine from 1968 through 1972.  In addition to her other career accomplishments, Mimi has constructed original word puzzles for Dell Magazines, has published two books of her word puzzles for Barnes and Noble, and is currently working on creating her own word puzzle apps.

Gloria was an early champion of Cliff Richard's, but despite her enthusiasm Cliff never became a top 16 Magazine fave, nor did he achieve the same massive success here as he did in England.  Cliff did, however, have eight Top 40 U.S. singles, including "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore."

Sir Cliff Richard is the third biggest-selling singles artist of all time in the U.K., and shares the record with Elvis Presley as the only acts to hit the U.K. singles chart in every one of its first six (1950s-2000s) decades.   

"GG recommended LPs this outing include the following: Make Way For Dionne Warwick on Sceptor (You'll Never Get To Heaven is on this); The Animals on MGM; Clyde McPhatter's Live At the Apollo on Mercury; Shirley Ellis In Action on Congress (Nitty Gritty is on this); The Hollies' Here I Go Again on Imperial; Gale Garnett's My Kind Of Folk Songs (We'll Sing In The Sunshine is on this); The Dave Clark Five in America and Cliff Richard Sings Latin Hits In Spanish, both on Epic; The Searchers' This Is Us on Kapp (Don't Throw Your Love Away is on this); Gladys Knight & The Pips' Lovers Always Forgive on Maxx; Meet Chris Crosby on MGM; Bo Diddley/Chuck Berry--Two Great Guitars on Checker (a swinger!); Chad & Jeremy's Yesterday's Gone on World Artists; The Supremes' Where Did Our Love Go on Motown; Another Side Of Bob Dylan on Columbia; Nancy Wilson's How Glad I Am and lovely Rosemary Prinz' smash LP on Pharos ... For my newly cultivated jazz buffs, here are a few tips.  Try Now's The Time with Sonny Rollins on RCA-Victor; Terry Gibb's Quartet's Take It From Me on Impulse; Dave Brubeck's brilliant Jazz Impressions Of Japan and Juan Serran's beautiful Bravo Serrano! on Electra."

In one of those strange coincidences, just minutes after I posted GeeGee's fave LPs of December 1964 I read that one of those artists, jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck, had passed away.  If you've been paying attention you know that Gloria loved jazz and never missed an opportunity to introduce 16 readers to the latest sounds.  In tribute to Mr. Brubeck, here is a cut from the album that Gloria wanted us to hear.

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since the world lost Davy Jones.  Artful Dodger that he was, he left us on a day that doesn't even exist this year. As Monkees fans gather in New Jersey to celebrate his life, we should all look to the sky at midnight tonight for the brightest twinkling star.  That's Davy giving us a wink and a smile.

Here's the video I made a year ago.  Thanks to those who took these great photos. 

CLICK IMAGE to enlarge

Today is the 30th anniversary of Gloria's death. On April 1, 1983, the world lost a pioneer in pop culture journalism and a true innovator in the publishing world. Most significant to all of us, the readers of 16 Magazine lost a real friend, who never put money or personal recognition ahead of her mission to mentor us through our most vulnerable years.

Gloria, you created a family of readers who still share a strong bond. We will never forget how you encouraged us and gave us permission to dream while providing us with a place where those dreams could begin to come true. I am proud to be the archivist of your amazing life.

I asked some of the people that follow my Facebook tribute page to reminisce about their days as 16 readers. My sincere thanks to all of you for your contributions.

                                                                                                             ~ Karen

***********************************

I remember getting my first 16 Magazine in Feb., 1967. I was in love with the Beatles and the Monkees, and I was gaining a serious crush on this amazing lead singer of a new group (for me) with this fabulous long pony tail . So, I was home sick from school, feeling lousy, and my precious mother gives me a paper bag and says, "This will make you feel better!" She was right!!!! A whole new world opened for me, a 10-year-old little rock 'n roller. From 1967 - 1972, I couldn't get enough of 16 Magazine, and I learned so much about what was going on in music at the time. I remember vividly getting the realization that this was all because of this woman named Gloria Stavers. I really love the name Gloria, and I was awed and inspsired by what she was doing. I remember when it dawned on me that she, in fact, was "GeeGee," the gal behind all of those fabulous costumes in the photos at "GeeGee's Gossip." That just thrilled me at the time. I loved reading her responses to the letters that other girls (and sometimes guys!) wrote her. She really was as much of the reason I loved 16 Mag as Mark Lindsay, Bobby Sherman, or the Monkees. I wanted to be like her: creative, and loving her work, music, and laughter. She was huge in my young life, and I always wanted to meet her to give her a big hug of thanks. I wish she were here today, and I'm so glad we have the opportunity to continue on with a bit of 16 Magazine fun and nostalgia through the internet.        -Donna Sanson Vaughn

My first experience with a Teen Magazine was 16, following the Brady Bunch and David Cassidy. I bought them every month for almost 10 years, cutting out articles, pin ups & entering contests. I loved the way Gloria supported David when he did Rolling Stone Magazine. I wish I'd had the chance to meet her.          -Cheri-lynn Corwin

When I worked for Gloria in the late 60's through the early 70's I didn't fully appreciate or understand who she really was and the impact she would have for decades to come. In retrospect I now realize how ahead of her time she was. She often came across as an abrasive and aggressive business woman who rattled a lot of nerves. But underneath that powerful and sometimes frightening facade was the gentle soul of a very insightful woman who loved her 16 Magazine readers unconditionally. She was determined to teach them to always be proud of who they were and to never give up when faced with obstacles or detours. I'd like to think she is beaming down on all of us with great pride and satisfaction knowing that her social media "family" has reconnected and is keeping their love for her and their memories of her alive.                                                                                                                                                  -Mimi Gitterman Zizza Menendez

As a young teen (about 13 years old), I felt so connected to my faves through her!  I used to think she was one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth--and she WAS!                        -Lesley Clack

Gloria Stavers is my heroine. If it wasn't for her, I would not be who I am today. And that may seem odd, since I was not privileged to share in the community she created and cultivated during her career. I came to know of Miss Stavers years after she left us - though her soul never has. I first learned of her when I was a teenager in the 1990s. I was fascinated by old teen magazines, but I was always drawn in most closely to 16. It had an intimacy, an understanding that the others never achieved, if they even tried. I noticed the name - Miss Gloria Stavers - as the editor. I realized I knew the name - from the liner notes of albums, from biographies of Jim Morrison - and came upon "Who's Your Fave Rave?" And I became even more fascinated... Though my collection of old 16 Magazines was small, they were my treasures. I learned about "new" artists, gained an understanding of an era and a culture that was fascinating to me. Simultaneously, I was in college and became a history major - mainly because of my passion for this era. As I neared the end of my undergrad days, I decided to pursue a graduate degree in the history of popular culture. Many professors told me "this isn't relevant," "that's not history," "you'll never be considered a REAL historian"... trivializing the very culture they came from. I wasn't deterred. Years later, after I earned my master's degree and slogged away in pointless jobs, I knew it was time for me to return to my passion. I began my PhD pursuit in 2004 - and returned to the welcoming community of 16 Magazine. My academic research since then has focused on 16 and Miss Stavers - the woman who was so integral to the emotional and intellectual development of generations of women - and who had herself been considered irrelevant in her profession, trivialized for her devotion to girls and their needs, yet nonetheless remained dedicated to what she knew was needed: providing a voice and a comfortable space for "her children." No academic research, prior to mine, had been done on 16 Magazine - it was considered insignificant, disposable, nostalgic, and trite. "Gloria Stavers" yielded no results when researched, so she couldn't be "historically important." Oh really? Tell that to the millions who read 16, were comforted by it, rejoiced in each month's new issue. Tell that to the musicians and actors who laud Miss Stavers for her journalistic integrity, dedication to excellence, and care for her audience. Tell that to the academics who now realize how outdated, outmoded, discriminatory, and misogynistic they were because they disregarded the material culture of girls' lives for so long. You see, though Miss Stavers may have left us decades ago, her soul never has. And I am seeing to it - with the loving assistance of my fellow Ravers - that her legacy never will."                                 -Diana Belscamper

 From the time I was about 10 until the age of - you guessed it, 16 - I looked forward every month to Gloria's magazine every month. I would get some change from my Grandma and run up to our neighborhood candy store to buy my copy. I always loves the fanciful, colorful covers. And the posters!! Fang, Mark, Mickey, and Paul would adorn my room. I was always getting in trouble for putting holes in the walls with tacks. But it was worth it to be surronded by my first loves! Thanks, Gloria, wish you were still here to see we are still rockin!  -Nadja O'Dwyer

I think the first 16 Magazine I bought was probably sometime in late 1964 when I was a Freshman in High School, and I was instantly hooked! I would save nickels from my lunch money and constantly check the corner store the day the next edition was due to be out. All these years later I still have those copies around. They were a definite mood lifter for me and it's still fun to look through them once in a while. Thank you, Gloria for all the great memories and looking out for us and our interests back then!                                                                -Mary Michaux Gustwiller

I loved 16 magazine! Gloria really knew the hearts of 13 year old girls. When I first discovered 16 magazine Mark Lindsay was my favorite teen idol! I loved how she wrote the articles making the teen idols so personable and real. She was a top notch photographer also. Loved all those pages filled with pictures of Mark, and The Raiders!   -Margie Weidlich

God Bless You Gloria! You were The Real Fairy God Mother!! Granting Wishes, Making Dreams Come True and of course Speading Your Magic all around!!! You really knew us better then we knew ourselves! Thank You for being there for two little 4 & 5 year olds girls who loved looking at one's older brother's 16 Mags!  You brought us so much Joy!!!!                                                                      - Kathleen Kepner

When the Monkees TV show first came on I was very young. But after saving my allowance all month, I used to walk from our house to our small city's downtown just to buy a copy of 16 Magazine. My heart was all fluttery every step of the way, just dreaming of having this paper treasure in my hands. I'd not allow anyone else to read it. It was mine alone! The only store that sold 16 Magazine, also sold record albums. Our tiny local Walgreens Drug Store. This was where I found my first record album ever. The Monkees, of course. I had a tiny, lavender record player and I tortured my family by playing the same few albums over and over again. I'd listen to my "TV pals" and devour my cherished magazine. Now, I'm simply amazed I was allowed to walk those ten blocks or so -- alone -- through some questionable neighborhoods. But it was a different time. A more innocent age where a young girl could buy wonderful life-changing music *and* a magic magazine filled with sparkly dreams of Davy and other heart-throbs. I *lived* for the day the new 16 Magazine appeared on the magazine rack, and I read and reread them until they literally fell apart. Wish I had them in hand now. Thank you, Gloria, for giving us our dreams!                           -Ginny Fleming

I discovered Herman's Hermits in 1966 - they were the first group I ever liked, and that's when I started reading 16 magazine.! Peter was soooooo cute and Gloria ALWAYS knew what us teenyboppers wanted to read about our faves. Even when Peter and Mireille got married and broke our hearts, at least we heard it from Gloria! It was so nice hearing years later that Peter had remained good friends w/her. Many thanks to Gloria! I will always be thankful that she portrayed teen idols in a positive light.                              - Jill Carroll 

What I loved about Gloria... is the way she loved People in General not only the Stars....Her stories brought so many People together, through laughter - silly sadness -  and yes admiration towards Our Love for the Icons we now still enjoy...Her dedication to all the fans of the 16 magazine, Making sure everyone was Satisfied with ones crush...she worked hard and effortless... For me, Collecting these Magazines over the years and re-collecting some that were lost,  but found today, Getting them from Ebay etc,  brings so much joy to me, re-reading Gloria's words and Stories makes her still here with me today, I truly Miss her, although she's in my Heart always....It is never to old to keep Admiring what she has left behind for us....Love to Gloria now and forever !                 -Eileen Lackey Rodriguez  

I live in a fairly small town an hour from Pittsburgh, Pa. and have loved the Cowsills since 1967. John is still my absolute favorite! My friend Terry and I would walk downtown from her house every Saturday, rain or shine, and walk through the stores, especially a small store that sold only magazines and newspapers. We would buy every magazine that John and Barry ( her fav) were in...and we bought LOTS of 16 magazines!!! My bedroom wall was covered with "Cowsill wallpaper" ( the posters and pictures)! We were the first to buy a lot of the issues, and would wait for them to be unwrapped...so many memories of that carefree time and the hours spent "dreaming" of dating John and Barry!!! I only wish I still had those magazines....we do follow John with the Beach Boys, and have met him twice. I even have a set of drumsticks that he gave us....Terry gave me hers so I would have both. So in a way, my dream of meeting him that started so long ago reading 16 Magazine came true in 2009...42 years later!!! Thank You, Gloria!                                           -Nina Hawk Springer

I used to go to my friend Cindy's house after school. Her older sister Kathy subscribed to 16 Magazine. If we were good, not too annoying and promised not to crinkle the pages, she would let us look over the latest copy. I remember trying to take in as much as I could before we had to give it back. I just loved the stories and the pictures. The first issue I decided that I HAD to have for myself was an issue that featured a house of Nez's. I remember it had a cool swimming pool and living in Maine, it was quite exotic to me. I worked Mom over pretty good to get her to give me a quarter so I could buy my own copy. I was about 8 at the time. The other thing I remember was when I went to buy 16 Magazine, the man who owned the grocery store would tease me. He told me I couldn't buy it because I wasn't 16. The first time, I believed him for a few seconds. But I would smile and head to the register with my treasured 16 Magazine and he would just chuckle. I loved the columns and the little tidbits that would be in them. And then of course the pictures. I got in trouble when I ran out of wall space and started putting pictures on the ceiling. I didn't think it was a problem but Dad said that was a bit much and a fire hazard to boot. I guess in hindsight he might have been right. I've been lucky and have been able to see and meet a lot of the people I used to read about in 16 Magazine but I would have loved to have met Gloria. She was such an influence and I would loved to have said thank you to her in person.                          -Kim Conner

To think that Gloria has been gone for 30 years seems impossible. When I started reading 16 I was only 11 or 12 years old. I would take my quarter to the drugstore praying the new issue would be on the magazine stand. I only realized years later how 16 was such a formative part of my young years. Probably THE major influence!  I am sure she is looking down on us smiling as we remember her and thank her everyday of our lives!  Dreamsville lives!  Thank you Gloria from the bottom of my "16" heart!                                       -Laura Bade Limbach

Whenever I think of Gloria Stavers the following song lyric plays in my head and heart:

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,

But in my mind, I know they will still live on and on,

But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?

It isn't easy, but I'll try,

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,

That would soar a thousand feet high,

To Miss Stavers, with Love                                         

16 SPEC Sept. '72

April 1964 was a milestone for Gloria and 16 Magazine.  Although she had been given editorial control of the magazine in 1957 (little more than a year after she was hired as clerical help by owner Jacques Chambrun,) Gloria finally ascended on 16's masthead to Editor-in-Chief in this issue. No more pesky fictional Georgia Winters keeping Gloria from her rightful title, although Georgia stayed right below her so she could snatch her title back if Gloria were to leave! 

The issue also marks a transition of another kind ... the teen idol torch is about to be passed from the generation represented by cover faves Richard Chamberlain, Connie Francis, Paul Petersen, Hayley Mills and Ricky Nelson to those upstart lads from Liverpool featured on the back cover.

Gloria pens an article about Elvis, whose manager Colonel Tom Parker continually thwarted her efforts to interview The King.  Here she uses the strategy of setting 16 apart from those mean-spirited magazines who print harmful gossip about Elvis.  The subtext is obvious ... 16 brings you the real story because the stars talk directly to Gloria ... and Elvis should too! 

And then ... Gloria waves her wand and ... the sixties start for real!

This was a typically fun installment of "You're Telling Me," the column in which Gloria shared some of the countless letters that she received. Gloria had recently bestowed her annual "GeeGee Awards" and some of the winners showed their excellent manners in sending letters of thanks.

And then there was this letter!

And, natch ... Gloria was always making the scene with the grooviest faves and giving us the fab details in GeeGee's Gossip!



Helping us celebrate our faves was one of Gloria's most important missions!

 And where else could you get 20 full color pin-ups for $1?

In the June 1971 issue of Crawdaddy, Lillian Roxon put forth her belief that many of the men and women who wrote about rock stars had more charisma than their subjects.  The author of 1969's "Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia" rhapsodized about the "white light" generated by her colleagues Danny Fields, Lenny Kaye, Linda Eastman, Danny Goldberg, Dave Marsh, John Mendelsohn, Lisa Robinson, Richard Meltzer, Robert Somma, Richard Robinson ... and Gloria Stavers.

Lillian writes of Gloria ... "Gloria Stavers is a great star because she's beautiful and full of mystery and surprises.  It takes a star to spring a surprise ... THAT'S what's mysterious about Gloria Stavers, that she has more surprises up her sleeve."

To honor Ray Manzarek after his passing on May 20, The Warner Music Group placed a full page ad in Billboard Magazine.  The entire page is too large for me to scan, but it is this photo with REMEMBERING RAY above it and RAY MANZAREK  1939 - 2013 below it. It is gratifying that Gloria is credited for her great photo of Ray (I have enlarged the photo credit to make it readable.)  This photo is also being used on a t-shirt as a fundraiser for Stand Up 2 Cancer on thedoors.com website.  It is also the raymanzarek.com homepage photo, and was The Doors Facebook cover photo.

"My very fave group, gospel singers called THE STAPLES, have just signed with Epic Records.  Can't wait till their first recording is released ... Here is a partial list (there are just too many LPs to mention them all) of the best buys in long-playing albums for this month:  Jackie de Shannon's Breakin' It Up On The Beatles' Tour on Liberty; The Bachelors Are Back Again on London; Here Are The Honeycombs on Interphon; Little Richard Is Back and Jimmy Reed At Soul City; both on Vee-Jay; Gerry And The Pacemakers' Second Album on Laurie; I'm On The Outside Looking In with Little Anthony and the Imperials on DCP; The Hondells' Go Little Honda on Mercury; The Manfred Mann Album on Ascot (Doo Wah Diddy Diddy is on this); Dusty (need I say more?) on Phillips; Joan Baez/5 and John Hammond's Big City Blues, both on Vanguard; George Martin's renditions of the music from A Hard Day's Night on United Artists; Frank Wilson's Last Kiss on Josie; and those of you who really do dig authentic American folk music should get Woody Guthrie's Library Of Congress Sessions on Elektra (he's the one who inspired Bobby Dylan to start writing) ... My hip little jazz-boats are instructed to run, don't walk, to the nearest record store and latch on to the very cool sounds of Herbie Mann's Nirvana on Atlantic and Chico Hamilton's Man From Two Worlds on Impulse."

"It was on the DC5's first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that Gloria Stavers turned up, pen in hand, 1,000-watt charm turned on.

(Dave Clark) 'It was after that first Sullivan appearance that 16 came on the scene.  That's when we got the full import of how powerful the magazine was, and of course, were happy to be in it.  Part of that had to do with Gloria Stavers, its editor-in-chief and pretty much the only person we dealt with at first.  We met for the first time in New York at the Warwick Hotel -- it was the only hotel to stay at in those days because they tolerated the screaming mobs outside.

Gloria was not only classy, but very lovely.  And she didn't look like a journalist.  She looked like a model, tall, slim, elegantly dressed, like she'd just walked off the catwalk.  We didn't expect her to pull out a pad and pen and start interviewing us.  We may have reacted to her more as a beautiful woman than a journalist, but over the years, we realized how brilliant she was.  She knew what the kids wanted.  She helped them to fulfill their dreams.  When it got into what they would like, or what they hoped for, she obviously knew and had great taste.

Those first two years were the most exciting.  We went from earning about $30 a week to, after being on The Ed Sullivan Show, having our own plane!  And playing to 30,000 people.  The whole thing changed overnight, and it all happened because of the unique combination of radio, the Sullivan show, and 16 Magazine.  Radio stations made your records, but they couldn't project the face behind the performance.  So you needed the Sullivan show for that; it took you into every American home.  16 Magazine was the icing on the cake, because it actually got into who the guys in the group were, what you liked, what you didn't like, which couldn't be portrayed on radio and television.  So it was a combination of the three coming together; one without the other wouldn't have worked.  16 was an enormously powerful magazine; it gave us our audience.' "

    ~  from "Who's Your Fave Rave" (1997) by Randi Reisfeld and Danny Fields 

16 Magazine (July 1965)