Happy Birthday, Hunter S. Thompson: Photo Gallery and Classic Stories

Seventy years ago today, a one-off named Hunter Stockton Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Almost from the get-go, he made his presence felt: According to Hunter's first wife Sandy, his mother said that he "shot out of the womb angry." Thirty-three years later, in 1970, Hunter ran for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado, where he based himself for the rest of his peripatetic life -- an experience he chronicled in his first piece for Rolling Stone. The rest, of course, is history: Thompson perfected a new form in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, changed political writing with Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, and became, as Jann Wenner has written, "part of the DNA of Rolling Stone," as well as a singular American legend in both his writing and his life. To borrow one of his own favorite accolades, he stomped terra. Happy Birthday, Hunter.

Click here for a Hunter S. Thompson photo gallery.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Excerpt
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 2004

And look for the release of Corey Seymour and Jann S. Wenner's "Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson," an oral biography to be published in October by Little, Brown & Co.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

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