| |
 |
Originally billed as the Rollin' Stones, the first line-up of this immemorial English 60s unit was a nucleus of Mick Jagger (b. Michael Philip Jagger, 26 July 1943, Dartford, Kent, England; vocals), Keith Richards (b. 18 December 1943, Dartford, Kent, England; guitar), Brian Jones (b. Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones, 28 February 1942, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, d. 3 July 1969, Sussex, England; rhythm guitar) and Ian Stewart (b. 1938, d. 12 December 1985; piano).
The Rolling Stones now had a formidable fan base and their records were becoming more accomplished and ambitious with each successive release. Jagger's accentuated phrasing and posturing stage persona made "Little Red Rooster' sound surprisingly fresh while Brian Jones" use of slide guitar was imperative to the single's success. Up until this point, the band had recorded cover versions as a-sides, but manager Andrew Oldham was determined that Jagger and Richard (he had recently dropped the "s" from his name, a conceit he kept up until the late 70s) should emulate the example of Lennon and McCartney and locked them in a room until they emerged with satilaactory material. Their early efforts, "It Should Have Been You" and "Will You Be My Lover Tonight?" (both recorded by the late George Bean) were bland, but Gene Pitney scored a hit with the emphatic "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday" and Jagger's girlfriend Marianne Faithfull became a teenage recording star with the moving "As Tears Go By".
1965 proved the year of the Rolling Stones' international breakthrough and three extraordinary self-penned number 1 singles. "The Last Time" saw them emerge with their own distinctive rhythmic style and underlined an ability to fuse R&B and pop in an enticing fashion. America finally succumbed to their spell with "(I Can't Get No) Satilaaction", a quintessential pop lyric with the still youthful Jagger sounding like a jaundiced rou‚. Released in the UK during the "summer of protest songs", the single encapsulated the restless weariness of a band already old before its time. The distinctive riff, which Keith Richard invented with almost casual dismissal, became one of the most famous hook lines in the entire glossary of pop and was picked up and imitated by a generation of garage bands thereafter. The 1965 trilogy of hits was completed with the engagingly surreal "Get Off Of My Cloud" in which Jagger's surly persona seemed at its most pronounced to date. As well as the number 1 hits of 1965, there was also a celebrated live EP, Got Live If You Want It which reached the Top 10 and, The Rolling Stones No. 2 that continued the innovative idea of not including the band's name on the front of the sleeve. There was also some well documented bad boy controversy when Jagger, Jones and Wyman were arrested and charged with urinating on the wall of an East London petrol station. Such scandalous behaviour merely reinforced the public's already ingrained view of the Rolling Stones as juvenile degenerates.
The revitalization of the Rolling Stones was demonstrated in the early summer of 1968 with "Jumping Jack Flash", a single that rivalled the best of their previous output. The succeeding album, Beggars Banquet, produced by Jimmy Miller, was also a return to strength and included the socio-political "Street Fighting Man" and the brilliantly macabre "Sympathy For The Devil', in which Jagger's seductive vocal was backed by hypnotic Afro-rhythms and dervish yelps. However, while the band was re-establishing itself, Brian Jones was falling deeper into drug abuse. A conviction in late 1968 prompted doubts about his availability for US tours and in the succeeding months he contributed less and less to recordings, and became increasingly jealous of Jagger's leading role in the band. Richard's wooing and impregnation of Jones" girlfriend Anita Pallenberg merely increased the tension. Matters reached a crisis point in June 1969 when Jones officially left the band. The following month he was found dead in the swimming pool of the Sussex house that had once belonged to writer A.A. Milne. The official verdict was "death by misadventure". A free concert at London's Hyde Park two days after his death was attended by a crowd of 250,000 and became a symbolic wake for the tragic youth. Jagger released thousands of butterfly's and narrated a poem by Shelley for Jones. Three days later, Jagger's former love Marianne Faithfull attempted suicide. This was truly the end of the first era of the Rolling Stones.
A three-year silence on record was broken by Dirty Work in 1986, which saw the band sign to CBS Records and team up with producer Steve Lillywhite. Surprisingly, it was not a band original that produced the expected offshoot single hit, but a cover version of Bob And Earl's "Harlem Shuffle'. A major record label signing often coincides with a flurry of new work, but the Rolling Stones were clearly moving away from each other creatively and concentrating more and more on individual projects. Wyman had already tasted some chart success in 1983 with the biggest solo hit from a Rolling Stones" member, "Je Suis Un Rock Star' and it came as little surprise when Jagger issued his own solo album, She's The Boss, in 1985. A much publicized-feud with Keith Richards led to speculation that the Rolling Stones story had come to an anti-climactic end, a view reinforced by the appearance of a second Jagger album, Primitive Cool, in 1987. When Richards himself released the first solo work of his career in 1988, the Rolling Stones" obituary had virtually been written. As if to confound the obituarists, however, the Rolling Stones reconvened in 1989 and announced that they would be working on a new album and commencing a world tour. Later that year the hastily-recorded Steel Wheels appeared and the critical reception was generally good. "Mixed Emotions" and "Rock And A Hard Place" were radio hits, while "Continental Drift" included contributions from the master musicians of Joujouka, previously immortalized on vinyl by the late Brian Jones.
After nearly 30 years in existence, the Rolling Stones began the 90s with the biggest grossing international tour of all time, and ended speculation about their future by reiterating their intention of playing on indefinitely. Wyman officially resigned in 1993, however, and was replaced by the highly experienced Darryl Jones (b. 11 December 1961, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Voodoo Lounge was one of their finest latterday recordings, sounding both lyrically daring and musically fresh. They sounded charged up and raring to go for the 1995 USA tour. Monies taken at each gig could almost finance the national debt and confirmation (as if it were needed) that they were still the world's greatest rock band, a title that is likely to stick.
Riding a crest after an extraordinarily active 1995, the band's next release Stripped was a dynamic semi-plugged album. Fresh sounding and energetic acoustic versions of "Street Fighting Man", "Wild Horses" and "Let It Bleed" among others, emphasized just how great the Jagger/Richards songwriting team is. The year was marred however by some outspoken comments by Keith Richards on R.E.M. and Nirvana. These clumsy comments did not endear the grand old man of rock to a younger audience, which was all the more surprising as the Rolling Stones had appeared to be in touch with contemporary rock music. Citing R.E.M. as "wimpy cult stuff" and Kurt Cobain as "some prissy little spoiled kid" were, at best, ill-chosen words.
The 1997 studio album Bridges To Babylon was a particularly fresh-sounding release, with Charlie Watts anchoring the band's sound like never before. His drumming was not only exceptional, but was mixed to the foreground, giving the record a much cleaner and funkier sound. Richards appeared much more in control in the studio and his own vocal contributions were emotionally strong. In addition to a major tour in 2002, the band issued four new tracks on the outstanding compilation album, 40 Licks. Their entire London/Decca catalogue was beautifully remastered and issued in replica digipacks during the same period.
At the present time the Rolling Stones credibility has rarely been higher. No other rock band in the history of popular music has been able to grow so old so well, and so disgracefully.
Discography:
The Rolling Stones (Decca 1964)****, 12X5 (London 1964)****, Rolling Stones No. 2 (Decca 1965)****, England's Newest Hit Makers (London 1965)****, Now! (London 1965)****, December's Children (And Everybody's (London 1965)****, Out Of Our Heads USA (London 1965)****, Out Of Our Heads UK (Decca 1965)****, Aftermath USA (London 1966)***, Aftermath UK (Decca 1966)****, Got Live If You Want It (London/Decca 1966)**, Between The Buttons USA (London 1967)***, Between The Buttons UK (Decca 1967)***, Their Satanic Majesties Request (Decca/London 1967)***, Flowers (London 1967)***, Beggars Banquet (London/Decca 1968)*****, Let It Bleed (London/Decca 1969)*****, "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!" (Decca/London 1970)****, Sticky Fingers (Rolling Stones 1971)****, Exile On Main Street (Rolling Stones 1972)*****, Goat's Head Soup (Rolling Stones 1973)**, It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (Rolling Stones 1974)**, Black And Blue (Rolling Stones 1976)**, Love You Live (Rolling Stones 1977)***, Some Girls (Rolling Stones 1978)****, Emotional Rescue (Rolling Stones 1980)**, Tattoo You (Rolling Stones 1981)****, Still Life (American Concerts 1981) (Rolling Stones 1982)**, Undercover (Rolling Stones 1983)**, Dirty Work (Rolling Stones 1986)**, Steel Wheels (Rolling Stones 1989)***, Flashpoint (Rolling Stones 1991)***, Voodoo Lounge (Virgin 1994)****, Stripped (Virgin 1995)***, Bridges To Babylon (Virgin 1997)****, No Security (Virgin 1998)***, Live Licks (Virgin 2004)***.
Mention"SBC Park" when you buy your Concerts, Sports, or Theater Tickets from SBCParkTickets.com and we will ship them for FREE.
|
|
We are not affiliated with the SBC Park or Rolling Stones.Sign up for last minute specials, merchandise giveaways and more!
Email us at info@SBCParkTickets.com.
|
|
