Rolling Stones Biography

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Rolling Stones is an English band from the 1960's. The Stones established a bad boy image and a prototype for hard rock. The Rolling Stones have sold 240 million albums worldwide and continue to tour and record today.

The founding members of the Rolling Stones are Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Jagger and Richards are considered to be one of the greatest songwriting teams in the history of rock. They have dabbled in reggae, funk, disco, dance, country, folk, soul and psychedelia genres. The original line-up was Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards on guitar and vocals, Brian Jones on guitar, harmonica, and vocals, Ian Stewart on piano, Dick Taylor on bass and various drummers like Mick Avory and Tony Chapman. In 1963, Charlie Watts became their new permanent drummer.

The band was signed to Decca Records. Their first self-titled EP was released in 1964 and featured "Route 66", "Mona", and "Carol". The Rolling Stones had the opposite image of the Beatles-this made the girls go crazy for the bad boy image which soon made them a teen idol group. "The Rolling Stones #2" was their next album released. At this time the band was touring Europe and America continuously. Another EP, "Five by Five" was recorded at the studios of Chess Records in Chicago.

In 1965, "Out of Our Heads" was released. The U.S. version contained seven original songs like "(I Can't Get NO) Satisfaction". This song began a string of hits for the band. "Mother's Little Helper" and "Under My Thumb" were just two of the hits released in 1966. Drugs became an integral part of the band and their relationship. Jones was arrested, but escaped with a fine and probation and was told to seek professional help, Jagger, and Richards were both arrested as well, but spent the night in jail before being granted bail as part of their appeal.

In the meantime, the band recorded a new single, "We Love You". This record featured backing vocals from John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The band then collaborated on a new psychedelic album, "Their Satanic Majesties Request". This album did not fair as well as previous albums, but did produce "2000 Light Years from Home" which focused on Brian Jones' talent. In May 1968 the single "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was released and later in the year the album "Beggars Banquet" was released and it received good reviews-the band was finally back to its roots. Jagger and Richards were producing some of their most memorable work during this time including, "Street Fighting Man" and "Sympathy for the Devil". This was the phase when critics and fans were beginning to see the Rolling Stones as "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". In 1969, the single "Honky Tonk Women" was released. "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up" were also released around this time as well. On June 8, 1969 Brian Jones was forced out of the band due to his increasing consumption of drugs and unreliability. He was replaced by Mick Taylor only five days later. A month and two days before the Stones were due to play a free concert in Hyde Park, London Jones was found dead at the bottom of a swimming pool. The cause of his drowning remains a mystery. Despite this tragedy the concert went ahead with Jagger reading from Shelley's Adonais and the releasing of hundreds of mostly dead butterflies in tribute to the late Jones. In an attempt to recreate Hyde Park the tour gave a free concert at Altamont near San Francisco. The concert ended up being a disaster. A young man was stabbed and beaten to death by the security after drawing a firearm as a response to being manhandled by the security staff.

The Rolling Stones released many more albums and singles between the 1970's and the 1980's. The relationship between Jagger and Richards was still troubled and their records suffered due to this. The 1980's brought Jagger signing a solo contract, Wood suffering from a drug habit, Richards angry about Jagger's solo contract, and the death of road manager Ian Stewart. The band performed a live concert as a tribute to Stewart which was their only live appearance during this time. In 1986 the Stones were awarded a Grammy for lifetime achievement. In 1989, the band regrouped and produced "Steel Wheels". Their "Steel Wheels" tour began in August of 1989 and the band was also inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during this year as well.

The band continued to release albums in the 2000's. "A Bigger Bang" was released in September of 2006 and received strong reviews. They announced another tour for the future with " A Bigger Bang". The kickoff to this tour was with two shows at Fenway Park. The group played during halftime of Super Bowl XL. The band played "Start Me Up", "Rough Justice" and "Satisfaction".

In early 2006 the Stones played their first concert since 1969 at Baltimore Arena. In February of 2006, the Stones performed a free concert on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro Brazil-this was the biggest concert of their career. The Stones performed a private concert for the supporters of the Robin Hood Foundation at Radio City Music Hall in March of 2006.

"A Bigger Bang" tour was scheduled for 2006, but was postponed due to Richards having brain surgery in May. The tour is scheduled to begin in July since Richards has made a full recovery, but the first 15 dates have been postponed although some have been rescheduled for this summer-most will take place in the summer of 2007.

Band Members:
Mick Jagger: Lead vocals
Keith Richards: Guitar/vocals
Ron Wood: Guitar
Charlie Watts: Drums

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