“The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone'” was written by Shel Silverstein with Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show recording it. It was the band’s third single and peaked at number six on the U.S. pop chart for two weeks on March 17–24, 1973.
Dr Hook And The Medicine Show did get their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on March 29, 1973 issue. It was only a caricature of the band not a photograph and the band name was not mentioned. The caption was, “What’s-Their-Names Make the Cover.”
It’s been reported that they really did buy five copies for their mothers.