Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
Rolling Stone Issue #887 from January 17, 2002 — "Remembering George Harrison" — is one of the most significant tribute issues in the magazine's history, and among the most important single-subject memorial publications in rock journalism. Harrison had died on November 29, 2001, at age 58, following a years-long battle with cancer. His death came just ten weeks after the September 11 attacks, making this January 2002 issue arrive in an America still processing extraordinary grief across multiple registers simultaneously. The "Remembering George Harrison" issue was Rolling Stone's formal tribute to the Quiet Beatle — the member of the most influential rock group in history who had also built one of the most distinguished and underrated solo careers in popular music, from All Things Must Pass through the Traveling Wilburys, while simultaneously becoming one of rock's most prominent spiritual seekers and humanitarian figures through his Bangladesh concert organization and his ongoing engagement with Eastern philosophy. Collectors building an archive of George Harrison magazine covers and features will find this January 2002 Rolling Stone the essential tribute document — the primary American rock press memorial that defined how the culture processed his loss.
The January 17, 2002 date is worth noting as a specific editorial and cultural moment. Rolling Stone's tribute issues for major musical figures were understood by the industry and its readership as the definitive mainstream rock press statements about those figures' legacies, and "Remembering George Harrison" carried all of that weight. Harrison's death had produced an outpouring of public mourning that revealed the depth of affection for a Beatle who had often been overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney in popular mythology — and the weeks between his November 29 death and this January tribute issue had been filled with assessments, reminiscences, and reassessments that were deepening public appreciation for the full scope of what he had accomplished and who he had been. The Rolling Stone archive at OriginalMagazines.com documents the publication's full history of major rock figure tributes, and this Harrison issue occupies one of the most significant positions in that record. The 2002 magazines collection situates this issue within the broader publishing landscape of the year immediately following one of American history's most traumatic periods.
About the Publication
Rolling Stone was founded by Jann Wenner in San Francisco in 1967 and by January 2002 had been the primary American publication for serious rock music journalism for thirty-five years. Its tribute issues for major figures — John Lennon in 1980, Kurt Cobain in 1994, and others — had become understood as the American rock press's definitive cultural statements about those losses, combining photography, retrospective criticism, and personal testimony from fellow musicians into packages that served as both journalism and cultural documents. Its readership in 2002 was broadly music-engaged, culturally liberal, and spanning multiple generations — exactly the audience that understood the full weight of Harrison's passing and wanted a publication that could honor it appropriately.
Key Highlights Inside
- "Remembering George Harrison" tribute issue — Issue #887: Rolling Stone's formal memorial to the former Beatle, published seven weeks after his November 29, 2001 death — the primary American rock press tribute that defined the cultural processing of his loss and the reassessment of his full legacy.
- Post-September 11 cultural context: Published in January 2002, this issue arrives in an America that had experienced extraordinary collective grief across the preceding months — Harrison's death coming ten weeks after the September 11 attacks — giving the tribute a particular emotional weight within a specific and unprecedented national mourning context.
- George Harrison legacy reassessment moment: The weeks between Harrison's death and this tribute issue had produced a broad public reassessment of his contributions to the Beatles and his solo career — making this issue a document of that reassessment at its most sustained and considered.
- Newsstand edition, no label: The absence of a subscriber address label confirms retail newsstand distribution, leaving the cover presentation clean — particularly significant for a tribute issue whose cover imagery was itself a primary editorial statement about how the magazine chose to memorialize Harrison.
Note: Specific interior article titles, contributor credits, and additional features beyond the confirmed tribute subject have not been inventoried for this issue and are not detailed here.
Condition & Rarity
Rolling Stone tribute issues for major figures are recognized as collector objects at the moment of publication — they are purchased by fans and collectors who understand their historical significance immediately, meaning a higher proportion of surviving copies were deliberately preserved than is typical for standard monthly issues. Nevertheless, minor edge wear and possible small marks or rips are standard and accepted condition attributes for a twenty-three-year-old newsstand magazine, reflecting authentic circulation history rather than collector-grade damage. The absence of an address label is a positive provenance attribute. Plastic protective covering indicates deliberate preservation and shields against the surface wear and humidity-related toning that accumulate over time. For a George Harrison tribute issue of this specific historical weight — the primary American rock press memorial for a figure whose legacy only continued to grow after his death — newsstand copies in protective covering in good condition represent the preferred collector state.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
Rolling Stone Issue #887 — the "Remembering George Harrison" tribute — is one of the most consistently sought issues in the magazine's modern run, and label-free newsstand copies in good condition are actively pursued by Beatles collectors, Harrison memorial archivists, and serious Rolling Stone run enthusiasts. If this issue is currently unavailable, the George Harrison magazines collection is the most focused starting point for other covers and features documenting his career and legacy across publications. The Rolling Stone archive and the 2002 magazines collection are both worth exploring for collectors building a comprehensive record of this specific and emotionally charged year in American music and cultural history.