We've got it covered.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

With Rolling Stone magazine's 1,000th issue hitting newsstands last week, we thought we'd cover the local scoop on that story.

What local scoop? Hey, there's Bluto Blutarsky of "Animal House" fame smack dab in the middle of the historic 3-D cover.

And John Belushi's character in the 1978 film, shot right here in Eugene, isn't the only Oregon connection to make the cover. We found several. The stars of three Hollywood movies shot in Oregon - "Animal House," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Personal Best" - made the cover in connection with the release of those films.

Portland's Matt Groening has made the cover several times, or at least some of his creations. (think yellow skin). The late, great Ken Kesey, although his photo never appeared on the cover, got his name on there several times as one of the magazine's outstanding early writers.

And our very own bluesman extraordinaire, Robert Cray, who lived and played in Eugene for many years, made the cover in 1987.

Here are some of the "Oregon" favorites we found in looking at all 1,000 covers since RS 1 (Nov. 9, 1967) with John Lennon's mug:

RS 119: Oct.12, 1972

Actress Sally Struthers, who grew up in Portland and attended Grant High School, and who is best known for playing Gloria, Archie Bunker's daughter in the hit 1970s sitcom, "All in the Family," appeared on the Oct. 12, 1972, cover.

The headline? "Why Did Sam Peckinpah Tell Steve McQueen to Belt This Actress in the Face?" It's a reference to the article that takes Peckinpah, known as a risk-taker among Hollywood directors, to task for directing McQueen to unexpectedly slug Struthers in the face during a scene in 1972's "The Getaway."

RS 201: Dec. 4, 1975

A drawing of actor Jack Nicholson appeared on the Dec. 4, 1975, cover with the subtitle, "Crazy Christ of the Cuckoo's Nest."

The article was an on-the-scene look at the filming of Kesey's 1962 novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. The film went on to sweep all four major awards at the Oscars a few months later.

RS 271: Aug. 10, 1978

Belushi - who would appear on three more covers, two posthumously - appeared on the Aug. 10, 1978, cover with the subtitle, "From Samurai Night Live to Matinee Idol," just days before the nationwide release of "Animal House," the National Lampoon comedy filmed in Eugene and Cottage Grove.

The inside profile of Belushi includes a scene in a Los Angeles restaurant in which the film's director, John Landis, is eating with Belushi when Steven Spielberg stops by and just happens to be wearing an "Animal House" T-shirt.

After Spielberg mentions that he enjoyed the film's premiere, and that it reminded him of his own college days at Cal State Long Beach, when Kesey "did one of his acid tests at a toga party," Landis mentions that he and Belushi met Kesey in Eugene during the filming.

"Yeah," Belushi adds: "I'm thinking, 'At last I'm meeting the great Ken Kesey,' and what is the only thing he wants to hear about? Killer bees."

RS 285: Feb. 22, 1979

Belushi and Dan Aykroyd appeared on the Feb. 22, 1979, cover as "The Blues Brothers." Local lore has it that Portland bluesman Curtis Salgado, who lived and played in Eugene for years, gave them the idea for what was first a skit on Saturday Night Live and then a 1980 film, while Belushi was hanging out and watching Salgado and Cray at the Eugene Hotel during the filming of "Animal House."

However, an RS article a few months prior says this: "Aykroyd and Belushi dreamed up the act while listening to blues tapes during a cross-country drive they made for a (Jan. 13, 1977) Rolling Stone story." But Salgado did receive a "special thanks" on the back of the "Blues Brothers" album cover. Hmmm. ...

RS 367: April 15, 1982

Actress Mariel Hemingway, Ernest's granddaughter, appeared half-naked and larger than life on the April 15, 1982, cover with the subtitle, "X-rated Innocence." That was a reference to Hemingway's role in the film of that same year, "Personal Best."

Shot at the UO's Hayward Field and in and around Eugene in 1980, when Hemingway was still a teenager, the film - which also starred Eugene writer Kenny Moore - tells the story of two female track athletes who fall in love leading up to the 1980 Olympic Trials in Eugene.

RS 502: June 18, 1987

Cray appeared on the cover of the June 18, 1987, issue with the headline: "The Blues Are Back and He's the Boss." The article inside talked about Cray's breakthrough album, "Strong Persuader."

Although he was raised in Tacoma, Cray lived in Eugene for years, playing routinely at Taylor's on the UO campus, at B.J. Kelly's on Franklin Boulevard and, of course, at the Eugene Hotel with Salgado.

RS 581: June 28, 1990

Bart Simpson made his cover debut on June 28, 1990, with the headline: "At Home With Bart Simpson - Underachiever or Just a Kid?"

Bart and the rest of the mega-successful Simpsons gang are, of course, the creation of Portland's Groening, who got an illustration credit on this cover.

RS 790: July 9-23, 1998

No Oregon-related cover shot here, just another Madonna cover. But Kesey's name appears in big, bold print - as it did on several RS covers throughout the years - in the double issue of July 9-23, 1998, right above the words, "The Oregon Shootings."

Inside is a look through Kesey's eyes at Springfield, where he lived as a youth, and the tragic day at Thurston High School when Kip Kinkel killed two fellow students, after killing his parents the night before, and injured many others.

RS 910: Nov. 28, 2002

The Simpsons reappeared with three covers that played off famous rock-album covers on Nov. 28, 2002, under the headline, "The Simpsons Make Rock History."

Bart is the infant floating underwater and reaching for not a dollar bill, but a "Krusty (the Klown) Buck," a takeoff on Nirvana's "Nevermind" album cover; the whole family is shown walking across "Abbey Road," a takeoff on the famous Beatles' album cover; and Homer's back and butt are on yet another cover, a la Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" album.

RS 931: Sept. 18, 2003

The Sept. 18, 2003, issue featured the late Jimi Hendrix and the headline, "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

What's local about that? Well, Eugene guitar teacher Bill Harkleroad made the list. Yep. Formerly known as Zoot Horn Rollo of Captain Beefhart & the Magic Band, a late '60s-early '70s rock group, Harkleroad came in at No. 62, one notch behind Ike Turner and eight notches ahead of Eddie Van Halen.

Who knew?

RS 937: Dec. 11, 2003

The Magic Band's "Trout Mask Replica" also made Rolling Stone's `500 Greatest Albums of All Time," coming in at a more than respectable No. 58.

RS 951: June 24, 2004

The June 24, 2004, cover announced the `50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll."

Listed in chronological order, the sixth listing is headlined, "Laying Down 'Louie, Louie' ' and tells about the day in April, 1963, when five Portland teens known as The Kingsmen recorded their famous garage-rock anthem on their first trip ever to a studio. It was also the theme song in "Animal House," appropriately enough.

RS 963: Dec. 9, 2004

"Louie, Louie" also made the special collectors' issue of Dec. 9, 2004, coming in at No. 55 in Rolling Stone's `500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

CAPTION(S):

The 1,000th issue of Rolling Stone features a 3-D cover.