Record World Salutes The Rolling Stones For a Undetermined Number of Years in the Show Business.

Saturday Review assigned Terry Southern to cover the Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 after William Burroughs, their initial choice, backed out. Southern's essay, 'Riding The Lapping Tongue', was published in the August 12, 1972, edition of Saturday Review. The Rolling Stones later asked Southern to accompany them on their 1976 'Black and Blue Tour', working with Annie Leibovitz to document the tour for The Rolling Stones on Tour–A Log Book (1978).

The band subsequently asked Southern to contribute the text to a proposed but ultimately unrealised issue of Record World. Some of the features are mentioned on the contents page, including 'Gross Indiscretions: USA', 'Les Grandes Gaffes Internationales', 'Blood is Thicker than Platinum', and 'The Dark Side of Charlie Watts by Ringo Starr.

Southern sent this set of photocopies to Hilary Gerrard, Ringo Starr's business manager for over thirty years and a board member of the Beatles' company Apple Corps. On the verso of the first sheet, Southern writes:

'My dear Hill!! / M. Jagger and the so-called 'Rolling / Stones' bought up an entire upcoming issue of / Record World, and commissioned a / certain yrs tly to do a satiric / treatment of their traditionally / self-serving contents. Thought / you might enjoy seeing a copy of / same -- albeit greatly reduced / and not in yr [...] living color, as / is the orige. Am doubly keen, natch, / to get your view! / Yrs ever, / Ter Southern.'

Unsurprisingly, Southern's offensive, defamatory, and highly amusing text was turned down.

60 sheets of photocopied US letter paper, all but one trimmed (232 x 217 mm, 9¼ x 8½ in) printed on one side only, partially folded and bound with adhesive, some now loose, autograph note by Southern to Hilary Gerrard in blue ink on front cover verso, in a brown kraft paper wrapper with tape marks, inscribed 'H. G. / from / A. U.' in pen on upper side.