Kim Kardashian Rolling Stone Cover: 16 Other Memorable Rolling Stone Photo-Shoots, Including Britney Spears, Zac Efron And The Cast Of 'True Blood' (PICS) | HuffPost

16 Most Memorable Rolling Stone Covers

Daniel Welsh— The Huffington Post UK

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After almost 50 years on the newsstands, Rolling Stone magazine has become synonymous with the heavy-hitters from the world of film, TV and music. It’s a fair assumption that you haven’t made it until you’ve covered Rolling Stone, with massive names like Madonna, Michael Jackson and David Bowie all having featured in iconic photo-shoots and given memorable interviews with the magazine.

In recent times, the magazine’s cover has also been synonymous with pushing the envelope, be that with the inclusion of heavily sexualised imagery, thought-provoking photo-shoots with political undertones, or just the choice of off-the-wall celebrities and public figures on the magazine’s cover.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian is the one of the most recent stars to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, shot by controversial photographer Terry Richardson, though we’ll admit it’s not among our favourites from the reality star. In addition to looking like the photo was taken about five years ago, it also simply doesn’t compare to her already-iconic cover shoots with Vogue, where she appears in bridal attire, alongside then-fiancé Kanye West, or Paper magazine, where she bore her bum in her infamous quest to ‘Break The Internet’.

Since we feel like Kim’s missed the mark somewhat, we’ve delved into the vaults and chosen 16 of what we feel are the most shocking, controversial or otherwise memorable Rolling Stone covers of all time...

16 Most Memorable Rolling Stone Covers

Britney Spears(01 of16)

In the early days of her career, David LaChappelle shot Britney Spears for this Rolling Stones cover, which became the first of many huge controversies surrounding the singer, cementing her as one of the biggest fixtures in the world of popular culture, a position she's rarely even come close to leaving in the past 15 years. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Kanye West(02 of16)

And, suffice to say, Mr. West faced quite a backlash with this Jesus Christ-inspired cover shoot, also taken by David LaChappelle. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Zac Efron(03 of16)

At the time of his Rolling Stone shoot, Zac was still mostly known for his role in the Disney franchise. This image helped a lot of people see him... in a new light. (credit:Rolling Stone)

John Lennon and Yoko Ono(04 of16)

From Annie Leibovitz's early work, this image is poignant, not just because it shows the love between John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but because John was shot dead just hours after this picture was taken. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Lady Gaga(05 of16)

Just when the whole world was wondering what Lady Gaga could possibly do next, in 2009 she unveiled this LaChappelle-shot Rolling Stone cover, completely naked, safe for a few plastic bubbles. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Lady Gaga(06 of16)

Of course, Gaga being Gaga, she wasn't done with the controversy, and later appeared on this Rolling Stone cover, sporting a gun bra, first seen in her 'Alejandro' music video. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Justin Bieber(07 of16)

Rolling Stone frequently comes under fire for using sexualised images of women on its cover, but this image of a young-looking Biebs - published around his 18th birthday, with the tagline 'Hot, Ready, Legal' - was heavily criticised. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Conchita Wurst(08 of16)

This new image of Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst is among our favourites, even if it's sadly not going to be appearing on international newsstands. (credit:Rolling Stone Germany)

Lorde(09 of16)

And speaking of, Lorde's Rolling Stone cover made a welcome change because she wasn't in any state of undress, instead just looking seriously bad-ass as she looks into the camera. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Courtney Love, Tina Turner and Madonna(10 of16)

Similarly, this cover from 1997 shows three women at the absolute top of their game, with Courtney, Tina and Madonna all appearing on the cover together. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Christina Aguilera(11 of16)

However, this was a very different approach taken by Christina Aguilera - or should we say Xtina - who posed with just an electric guitar to protect her modesty, at the height of her 'Stripped' era. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Melissa McCarthy(12 of16)

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (credit:Rolling Stone)

Janet Jackson(13 of16)

Janet - or Miss Jackson, if you're nasty - shocked the world when she unveiled this magazine cover image, which shows her topless, with then-husband René Elizondo, Jr. cupping her breasts. A cropped version of this photo was later used for her 'janet.' album cover. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Justin Timberlake(14 of16)

Ooooooh alright, then. (credit:Rolling Stone)

'True Blood'(15 of16)

Rolling Stone covers have frequently faced a backlash for their thought-provoking imagery, ever since the magazine launched in the late 1960s, but this one, from 2010, was among the most controversial ever, showing three members of the cast of 'True Blood' totally naked and covered in blood. (credit:Rolling Stone)

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev(16 of16)

However no cover has ever been as controversial as this image from August 2013, when Rolling Stone but Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the front of the magazine, with accusations that it was "glamorising terrorism" and acted as a "slap in the face" to the city of Boston. (credit:Rolling Stone)

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