Porter Bibb

Porter Bibb (born c. 1937, Louisville, Kentucky)^[3] was an American financier, media producer, and writer. He is best known as the first publisher of Rolling Stone magazine.^[1]

Porter Bibb
Born	1936 or 1937 (age 87–88)[1] Louisville, Kentucky
Died	January 4, 2025 New York City, NY
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Investment banker
Known for	journalist, publisher, film producer, author
Spouse	Alexandra Penn Bibb [2]

Biography

Bibb began his career as an investment banker specializing in media, entertainment, and technology ventures. He founded the first investment banking boutique in London ^[who?] in 1962.^{[citation needed]} He worked on the team that began Bankers Trust's investment banking unit in 1977,^{[citation needed]} which completed over 300 media and entertainment transactions in five years.^{[citation needed]} For over 15 years, he was a senior partner and director of investment banking at Ladenburg Thalmann.^{[when?][citation needed]}

Bibb attended Louisville Male High School and was a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association, a school-sponsored literary and social club. There he got to know another club member, Hunter S. Thompson, who would become an influential counterculture journalist.^[4]

Bibb convinced Albert and David Maysles to film the 1969 Woodstock Festival despite the bad weather and the withdrawal of Warner Bros.' financial backing.^[1][5] Bibb also convinced The Rolling Stones to perform at the Altamont Free Concert in 1969, and he produced the 1970 documentary film of the event, Gimme Shelter.^[1][6]

As a journalist, Bibb was a White House correspondent for Newsweek magazine,^{[when?][citation needed]} the first publisher of Rolling Stone magazine,^{[when?][citation needed]} and a corporate development director for The New York Times Company.^[when?] He was the author of several books, including a best-selling biography of Ted Turner (Random House, 1993 and 1997).

He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in History and earned graduate certificates from the Harvard Business School and London School of Economics.

Bibb is a direct descendant of the first two governors of Alabama: William Wyatt Bibb (1781–1820) and Thomas Bibb (1783–1839).^[1]

Books authored

• CB Bible, Doubleday, 1976
• Disco Inferno: An Illustrated Novel, Dolphin, 1979
• It Ain't As Easy As It Looks: Ted Turner's Amazing Story, Crown, 1993

Filmography

• Gimme Shelter (1970) – associate producer
• Year of the Woman (1973) – producer