The Rolling Stones

Few groups have endured as long as England’s own Rolling Stones. The Stones had their earliest incarnation in 1960 when school friends Keith Richards and Mick Jagger united with Dick Taylor in a group called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. At the time Brian Jones and Ian Stewart were part of London’s R ‘n’ B scene and it was in the capital that Jones put together a rehearsal featuring the five artists as well as Tony Chapman on drums.

The group took its name from a Muddy Waters song. With a slightly altered line-up (Taylor and Chapman replaced by Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts) the group signed to Decca Records having been recommended by one George Harrison. Their debut single was a cover of Chuck Berry’s Come On.

A self-titled album followed in 1964, the same year they toured the U.S. for the first time. Despite the tour being deemed a disaster by Bill Wyman due to the bands low profile in the country, the group saw results a year later with their first number one stateside, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

The hits kept coming for the Stones when their first (completely) self-composed album Aftermath was a success featuring classic tracks such as Paint it Black. By 1967 the Rolling Stones were producing their own work with the psychedelic Their Satanic Majesties Request being followed by the classic bluesy album Beggars Banquet.

The group had been the subject of a media campaign against the frequent casual drug use that had become part of the music scene with; Jagger, Richards and Jones all facing criminal charges. It seemed that the latter’s spiralling drug use was a problem to his colleagues as well and in May 1969 he was allowed to leave the band. A month later he was found dead having drowned in his swimming pool. The guitarist’s death was commemorated with a free concert in Hyde Park featuring his replacement Mick Taylor.

Another successful album followed with Let it Bleed featuring the hits You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Gimme Shelter. The Rolling Stones were again met with tragedy as a fan was killed following an altercation with security at the Altamont Free Concert in December 1969. The group bounced back with what is heralded by many as their best album, the double release Exile on Main Street in 1972 before yet another member change as Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood replaced Mick Taylor.

The band moved toward a more guitar driven sound but the relationship between Jagger and Richards went into decline. Despite this the band have continued to tour the world releasing albums with A Bigger Bang (2005) being their most recent. Most recently Martin Scorsese produced a concert-film of the Rolling Stones entitled A Bigger Bang.