My next entry into my music hall of fame is The Rolling Stones. Their music has been on the radio since I was 5 years old and I hear their songs everyday still. Their 1964 single, a cover of Holly and the Crickets “Not Fade Away” has always been one of my favorites.
Mick Jagger (lead vocalist) and Keith Richards (Guitar, vocals) were childhood friends and classmates in 1950, Dartford, Kent, England. In the mid-50s Jagger and Dick Taylor (Guitarist and founding member of The Pretty Things) formed a garage band playing mostly material by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley.
On October 17, 1961, Jagger and Richard crossed paths again the the partnership started soon after. In late 1961 Alan Etherington and Bob Beckwith joined the band they called the Blues Boys.
In March 1962 they sent a tape of their music to Alexis Korner of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated and he was impressed. They had a meeting on April 7 with band members Brian Jones (slide guitar and more), Ian Stewart (keyboards) and Charlie Watts (drummer).
Jones, after leaving the Blues Incorporated was advertising for bandmates to join him and Stewart. Jagger, Taylor and Richards and soon Tony Chapman (drummer) would complete the band. According to Keith Richards, jones came up with the name.
On a phone call from Jazz News a journalist asked for their bands name. He looked down and there was a Muddy Waters record on the floor with the track “Rollin’ Stone”. Their first show was a the Marquee Club in London, 1962, and they were billed as the Rollin’ Stones. Bill Wyman (bass, vocals) replaced Dick Taylor in December. On February 2, 1963, Watts would take the place of Chapman as the permanent drummer.
They changed their official name to The Rolling Stones soon after that first gig and in May 1963, they signed, 19 year old, Andrew Loog Oldham as their manager. Stewart would soon leave the band but stay on as road manger.
They had top selling singles such as the September 1964 US number 6 “Time Is on My Side”, Number 9 “The Last Time” February 1965, the June 1965 number 1 “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and September 1965 “Get Off of My Cloud”. Not slowing down there was “As Tears Go By” in late 1965, “19th Nervous Breakdown”, “Paint It Black” (my favorite),
“Mother’s Little Helper” and “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?” in 1966. The next year, 1967 would bring “Ruby Tuesday”, “Dandelion”, and more of my favorites “In Another Land”, “She’s a Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years from Home”. Their first studio album was the 1964 “England’s Newest Hit Makers”.
My favorites are the the 1967 issues of “Between the Buttons” and “Their Satanic Majesties Request”. They’ve had 26 studio album releases that date right up until 2016. The 1970’s would bring a bunch more great singles such as “Brown Sugar”, Tumbling Dice”, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, “Angie”, “Miss You”, “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered”.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the main songwriters for the band. Their song “Honkey Tonk Women” is their best selling single ever. As of 2019, they had played “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” the most in concert at 1167 times.
Brian Jones died July 3, 1969 and Charlie Watts on August 24, 2021. Other than that they just keep going. Their albums have sold an estimated 250 million and they still bring energetic rock concerts to their fans.
