Rolling Stones | Artist

Founding member Brian Jones died in 1969 at the age of 27, tragically joining that illustrious group of brilliant yet ill-fated artists known as the "27 Club"

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed 1962 in London by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Ian Stewart. Jagger and Richards became childhood friends and classmates in 1950 in Dartford, Kent. The pair formed their first band, the Blues Boys, with Richard Taylor, Alan Etherington and Bob Beckwith. They sent a tape to Alexis Korner, who invited them to the Ealing Jazz Club where they met the members of Blues Incorporated, who included guitarist Brian Jones, keyboardist Ian Stewart and drummer Charlie Watts. Soon after, Jagger, Richards, Jones and Stewart formed a new band the Rollin' Stones. The group played their first show on 12 July 1962, at the Marquee Club in London. Bill Wyman was soon hired as the successor to Dick Taylor, and the classic line-up with Charlie Watts on drums played for the first time on Saturday, 12 January 1963 at the Ealing Club. Richard 'Dick' Taylor went on to form the band Pretty Things. The band soon began their first tour of the UK, performing Chicago blues and song by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. By 1963 they were making their mark, with several opinion polls rating the band as Britain's most popular group, outranking even the Beatles. In May 1963, they signed the nineteen year old former Beatles publicist Andrew Loog Oldham as their manager. Initially, Oldham tried the Beatles formula, having the band members wear suits, but soon took a new approach featuring unmatched clothing, long hair, and an unclean appearance, wanting to make the Stones "a raunchy, gamy, unpredictable bunch of undesirables" and to "establish that the Stones were threatening, uncouth and animalistic". Stewart left the official line-up, but remained road manager and touring keyboardist. Decca Records, which had turned down the Beatles, gave the Rolling Stones a very favourable recording contract, including access to Regent Sound Studios. A cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" was the band's first single released on 7 June 1963. Their first album The Rolling Stones (1964) contained mostly covers, with one Jagger/Richards original "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", and two numbers credited to Nanker Phelge, the pen name used for songs written by the entire group. After his death in 1969 Jones was replaced by Mick Taylor who was in turn replaced by Ron Wood in 1975. At this time The Rolling Stones were being billed as "the greatest rock and roll band in the world" and between 1968-72 they made five of the finest rock albums ever recorded: Beggars Banquet (1968), Let it Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile on Main St (1972). Other essential Stones albums are: Aftermath (1966), Between the Buttons (1967), Goat's Head Soup (1973), and Some Girls (1978). The compilations High Tide and Green Grass (1966), Through the Past Darkly (1969), and Hot Rocks (1964-1971) (1971) and also outstanding. Estimated record sales of 200 million makes the Stones one of the best selling artists of all time. They have won three Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Billboard magazine ranked them second on their list of "Greatest Artists of All Time" and they ranked fourth on Rolling Stone magazine's list of Greatest Artists of All Time. For many fans, Keith Richards is the heart and soul of the Rolling Stones. In a few words he summed up his thoughts on music: "Rock n’ roll: music for the neck downwards.. After food, air, water and warmth, music is the next necessity of life.”

Artist Website: rollingstones.com

Featured Albums: Rolling Stones

Related Artists: Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Marianne Faithfull

Collections: 27 Forever