THE HISTORY OF
THE ROLLING STONES
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones on guitar and harmonica, Ian Stewart on piano, Mick Jagger on lead vocals and harmonica, Keith Richards on guitar and backing vocals, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. Jones founded and led the band, but Jagger and Richards assumed leadership after becoming the primary songwriters. Jones’ increases physical and mental troubles forced his departure from the band two weeks prior to his drowning death in 1969. Since Wyman left to pursue other interests in 1993, full band members have been Jagger, Richards, Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood who joined in 1975, replacing Mick Taylor (who had followed Jones). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Rolling Stones in 1989. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list and their album sales are estimated at more than 200 million worldwide.
The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the "British Invasion" of English bands that became popular in the U.S. in the mid-sixties. They have released twenty-four studio albums, eleven live albums and numerous compilations. Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. Their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Rolling Stones' advent brought greater international recognition to the primitive urban blues typified by Chess Records' artist Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", the song for which the band is named. Critic and musicologist Robert Palmer said their endurance and relevance stems from being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone". In 2012 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary.
The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the "British Invasion" of English bands that became popular in the U.S. in the mid-sixties. They have released twenty-four studio albums, eleven live albums and numerous compilations. Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. Their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Rolling Stones' advent brought greater international recognition to the primitive urban blues typified by Chess Records' artist Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", the song for which the band is named. Critic and musicologist Robert Palmer said their endurance and relevance stems from being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone". In 2012 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary.
1962-1964 (the first gig)
Jagger, Richards and Jones with Stewart and Dick Taylor on bass billed as "the Rollin' Stones" played their first gig in July 1962 at the Marquee Club.[17] Their material included the Chicago blues as well Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs.[18] Bassist Bill Wyman joined in December 1962 and drummer Charlie Watts the following January 1963 to form the band's long-standing rhythm section.[10][19] The Rolling Stones' then acting manager Giorgio Gomelsky secured a Sunday afternoon residency at the Crawdaddy Club, which, Gomelsky said, triggered an "international renaissance for the blues" and was a seminal facet of "Swinging London's" advent.[20]
The Rolling Stones first signed manager was Andrew Loog Oldham, a publicist who was directed to the band by previously clients, the Beatles. Because Oldham had not reached majority - he was nineteen and younger than any of the band, he could not get an agent's license, or sign any contracts without his mother also signing for her son. By necessity he joined with booking agent Eric Easton. Gomelsky had no written agreement with the band and was not consulted.[25] Oldham made several changes to the band. He changed the spelling of the band name from "the Rollin' Stones" to "the Rolling Stones". He removed the "s" from Richards last name saying it "looked more pop". Oldham also removed Stewart from the lineup. Wyman said Stewart did not fit Oldham's mould of "pretty, thin, long-haired boys." Stewart stayed on as road manager playing piano on many studio tracks and on stage until his death in 1985.
Oldham signed the Rolling Stones to Decca Records, which had regretted passing on the Beatles earlier. The terms were favorable to the band. The Rolling Stones got three times a new act's typical royalty rate, full artistic control of recordings, and ownership of the recording masters. The deal also let the band use non-Decca recording studios. Regent Sound Studios, a mono facility decorated by egg boxes on the ceiling for sound treatment, became the preferred facility. Oldham, who had no recording experience but made himself the band's producer, said Regent had a sound that "leaked, instrument to instrument, the right way" creating a "wall of noise" that worked well for the band. Due to Regent's low rates, the band could record for extended periods rather than the usual three-hour blocks then prevalent at other studios. All tracks on the first Rolling Stones UK album were recorded at Regent.
Oldham presented the Rolling Stones' use of independent studios to position his artists in the music press as more independent than the Beatles. Oldham said the Beatles' obligation to record in EMI's studios made them appear as "mere mortals...sweating in the studio for the man". Oldham promoted the Rolling Stones as the nasty opposites of the Beatles by having the band pose unsmiling on the cover of the first UK album. He also encouraged the press to use provocative headlines such as "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" Though Oldham dressed the band in identical suits, the band returned to wearing casual clothes at public appearances. According to Wyman: "Our reputation and image as the Bad Boys came later, completely accidentally. Andrew never did engineer it. He simply exploited it exhaustively".
"we were the first pop group to break away from the whole Cliff Richard thing where the bands did little dance steps, wore identical uniforms and had snappy patter". - Bill Wyman
A cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" was the Rolling Stones' first single, released on 7 June 1963. The Rolling Stones refused to play it at live gigs, and Decca bought only one ad to promote the single. With Oldham's direction fan-club members bought copies at record shops polled by the charts, helping "Come On" rise to No.21 on the UK singles charts Having a charting single gave the band entree to play outside London, starting with a booking at the Outlook Club in Middlesbrough on 13 July, sharing the billing with the Hollies. Later in the year Oldham and Easton arranged the band's first big UK concert tour as a supporting act for American stars including Bo Diddley, Little Richard and The Everly Brothers. This Autumn 1963 tour became a "training ground" for the young band's stagecraft.
During this tour the Rolling Stones recorded their second single, a Lennon–McCartney-penned number entitled "I Wanna Be Your Man"; it reached No.12 in the UK charts. Their third single, Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away", itself based on Bo Diddley's style, was released in February 1964 and reached No. 3.
Oldham saw little future for an act that lost significant songwriting royalties by playing songs of "middle-aged blacks," limiting the appeal to teenage audiences. At Oldham's urging, Jagger and Richards co-wrote songs, the first batch of which he described as "soppy and imitative." Because songwriting developed slowly, songs on the band's first album The Rolling Stones, (issued in the US as England's Newest Hit Makers) were primarily covers, with only one Jagger/Richards original – "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" – and two numbers credited to Nanker Phelge, the pen name for songs written by the entire group.
The Rolling Stones' first US tour, in June 1964, was, in Bill Wyman's words, "a disaster." "When we arrived, we didn't have a hit record [there] or anything going for us." When the band appeared on Dean Martin's TV variety show The Hollywood Palace, Martin mocked both their hair and their performance. During the tour they recorded for two days at Chess Studios in Chicago, meeting many of their most important influences, including Muddy Waters. These sessions included what would become the Rolling Stones' first number 1 hit in the UK: their cover of Bobby and Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now".[55]
"The Stones" followed James Brown & The Famous Flames in the filmed theatrical release of The TAMI Show, which showcased American acts with British Invasion artists. According to Jagger in 2003, "We weren't actually following James Brown because there was considerable time between the filming of each section. Nevertheless, he was still very annoyed about it..." On 25 October the band also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Because of the initial pandemonium the Rolling Stones caused, Sullivan banned the band from his show, though they were booked for subsequent appearances in the years following. Their second LP – the US-only 12 X 5 – was released during this tour; like their first album, it contained mainly cover tunes, augmented by Jagger/Richards and Nanker Phelge tracks.
The Rolling Stones' fifth UK single – a cover of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" backed by "Off the Hook" credited to Nanker Phelge – was released in November 1964 and became their second No.1 hit in the UK – an unprecedented achievement for a blues number. The band's US distributors (London Records) declined to release "Little Red Rooster" as a single there. In December 1964 London Records released the band's first single with Jagger/Richards originals on both sides: "Heart of Stone" backed with "What a Shame"; "Heart of Stone" went to number 19 in the US.
The Rolling Stones first signed manager was Andrew Loog Oldham, a publicist who was directed to the band by previously clients, the Beatles. Because Oldham had not reached majority - he was nineteen and younger than any of the band, he could not get an agent's license, or sign any contracts without his mother also signing for her son. By necessity he joined with booking agent Eric Easton. Gomelsky had no written agreement with the band and was not consulted.[25] Oldham made several changes to the band. He changed the spelling of the band name from "the Rollin' Stones" to "the Rolling Stones". He removed the "s" from Richards last name saying it "looked more pop". Oldham also removed Stewart from the lineup. Wyman said Stewart did not fit Oldham's mould of "pretty, thin, long-haired boys." Stewart stayed on as road manager playing piano on many studio tracks and on stage until his death in 1985.
Oldham signed the Rolling Stones to Decca Records, which had regretted passing on the Beatles earlier. The terms were favorable to the band. The Rolling Stones got three times a new act's typical royalty rate, full artistic control of recordings, and ownership of the recording masters. The deal also let the band use non-Decca recording studios. Regent Sound Studios, a mono facility decorated by egg boxes on the ceiling for sound treatment, became the preferred facility. Oldham, who had no recording experience but made himself the band's producer, said Regent had a sound that "leaked, instrument to instrument, the right way" creating a "wall of noise" that worked well for the band. Due to Regent's low rates, the band could record for extended periods rather than the usual three-hour blocks then prevalent at other studios. All tracks on the first Rolling Stones UK album were recorded at Regent.
Oldham presented the Rolling Stones' use of independent studios to position his artists in the music press as more independent than the Beatles. Oldham said the Beatles' obligation to record in EMI's studios made them appear as "mere mortals...sweating in the studio for the man". Oldham promoted the Rolling Stones as the nasty opposites of the Beatles by having the band pose unsmiling on the cover of the first UK album. He also encouraged the press to use provocative headlines such as "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" Though Oldham dressed the band in identical suits, the band returned to wearing casual clothes at public appearances. According to Wyman: "Our reputation and image as the Bad Boys came later, completely accidentally. Andrew never did engineer it. He simply exploited it exhaustively".
"we were the first pop group to break away from the whole Cliff Richard thing where the bands did little dance steps, wore identical uniforms and had snappy patter". - Bill Wyman
A cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" was the Rolling Stones' first single, released on 7 June 1963. The Rolling Stones refused to play it at live gigs, and Decca bought only one ad to promote the single. With Oldham's direction fan-club members bought copies at record shops polled by the charts, helping "Come On" rise to No.21 on the UK singles charts Having a charting single gave the band entree to play outside London, starting with a booking at the Outlook Club in Middlesbrough on 13 July, sharing the billing with the Hollies. Later in the year Oldham and Easton arranged the band's first big UK concert tour as a supporting act for American stars including Bo Diddley, Little Richard and The Everly Brothers. This Autumn 1963 tour became a "training ground" for the young band's stagecraft.
During this tour the Rolling Stones recorded their second single, a Lennon–McCartney-penned number entitled "I Wanna Be Your Man"; it reached No.12 in the UK charts. Their third single, Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away", itself based on Bo Diddley's style, was released in February 1964 and reached No. 3.
Oldham saw little future for an act that lost significant songwriting royalties by playing songs of "middle-aged blacks," limiting the appeal to teenage audiences. At Oldham's urging, Jagger and Richards co-wrote songs, the first batch of which he described as "soppy and imitative." Because songwriting developed slowly, songs on the band's first album The Rolling Stones, (issued in the US as England's Newest Hit Makers) were primarily covers, with only one Jagger/Richards original – "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" – and two numbers credited to Nanker Phelge, the pen name for songs written by the entire group.
The Rolling Stones' first US tour, in June 1964, was, in Bill Wyman's words, "a disaster." "When we arrived, we didn't have a hit record [there] or anything going for us." When the band appeared on Dean Martin's TV variety show The Hollywood Palace, Martin mocked both their hair and their performance. During the tour they recorded for two days at Chess Studios in Chicago, meeting many of their most important influences, including Muddy Waters. These sessions included what would become the Rolling Stones' first number 1 hit in the UK: their cover of Bobby and Shirley Womack's "It's All Over Now".[55]
"The Stones" followed James Brown & The Famous Flames in the filmed theatrical release of The TAMI Show, which showcased American acts with British Invasion artists. According to Jagger in 2003, "We weren't actually following James Brown because there was considerable time between the filming of each section. Nevertheless, he was still very annoyed about it..." On 25 October the band also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Because of the initial pandemonium the Rolling Stones caused, Sullivan banned the band from his show, though they were booked for subsequent appearances in the years following. Their second LP – the US-only 12 X 5 – was released during this tour; like their first album, it contained mainly cover tunes, augmented by Jagger/Richards and Nanker Phelge tracks.
The Rolling Stones' fifth UK single – a cover of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" backed by "Off the Hook" credited to Nanker Phelge – was released in November 1964 and became their second No.1 hit in the UK – an unprecedented achievement for a blues number. The band's US distributors (London Records) declined to release "Little Red Rooster" as a single there. In December 1964 London Records released the band's first single with Jagger/Richards originals on both sides: "Heart of Stone" backed with "What a Shame"; "Heart of Stone" went to number 19 in the US.