10 Things You Might Not Know About The Rolling Stones (1960s)
The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the U.S. in 1964-65. At first noted for their longish hair as much as their music, the band are identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. Critic Sean Egan states that within a year of the release of their 1964 debut album, they “were being perceived by the youth of Britain and then the world as representatives of opposition to an old, cruel order – the antidote to a class-bound, authoritarian culture.” After a short period of musical experimentation that culminated with the poorly received and largely psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967), the group returned to its bluesy roots with Beggars’ Banquet (1968) which – along with its follow-ups, Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on Main St. (1972) – is generally considered to be the band’s best work. The band continued to release commercially successful records through the 1970s and sell many albums with Some Girls (1978) and Tattoo You (1981) being their two most sold albums worldwide. In the 1980s, a feud between Jagger and Richards about the band’s musical direction almost caused the band to split but they managed to patch their relationship and had a big comeback with Steel Wheels (1989) which was followed by a big stadium and arena tour. In 2012, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary.
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Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were childhood friends and classmates in Dartford in Kent, England, until the Jaggers moved away. Jagger was reacquainted with Richards in 1960 at the Dartford railway station. Jagger formed a garage band with Dick Taylor, Richards, Alan Etherington and Bob Beckwith and called themselves The Blue Boys
The Rolling Stones were formed in London in 1962. The first line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), and Charlie Watts (drums). Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 and Jones departed the band less than a month prior to his death in 1969
According to Richards, Brian Jones christened the band during a phone call to newspaper Jazz News. When asked for a band name, Jones saw a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor of which one of the tracks was "Rollin’ Stone.” It was manager Andrew Loog Oldham who changed the band name from "The Rollin' Stones" to "The Rolling Stones
The Stones released their self-titled debut album in the U.K. on April 16, 1964. It featured covers of songs by Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, and Chuck Berry. The cover bears no title or identifying information other than the photo and the Decca logo; an "unheard of" design concept originated by manager Andrew Oldham
The first track on their debut album, "Route 66,” was composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The song’s lyrics read as a mini-travelogue about the major stops along the route, listing several cities and towns that Route 66 passes through including St Louis; "Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri
Their first international #1 hit was "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," recorded in May 1965. Richards recorded the rough version of the riff in a hotel before falling asleep. He said when he listened back to it in the morning, there was about two minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear him drop the pick and "snoring for the next 40 minutes
Mister Jimmy” Hutmaker was a celebrity in Excelsior, Minnesota and ran into Mick Jagger having a prescription filled at Bacon's Drugstore in 1964. Jimmy complained to Mick that he had ordered a Cherry Coke but received a regular Coca Cola instead, then dismissed his own complaint, saying “you can't always get what you want”
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was conceived by Mick Jagger and filmed on December 11, 1968. It featured John Lennon, Yoko Ono, The Dirty Mac, The Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithfull, and Taj Mahal. The footage was shelved for twenty-eight years but was finally released officially in 1996, with a DVD version released in October 2004
On July 3, 1969, Brian Jones was discovered motionless at the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm. He was taken out of the pool but by the time the doctors arrived he was pronounced dead. The coroner's report stated "death by misadventure" and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse
The Stones performed at the Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway, about 50 miles east of San Francisco, on Saturday, December 6, 1969. The biker gang Hells Angels provided security, and a fan, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels after they realized that he was armed
