The Rolling Stones: It’s Still Rock and Roll To Them After 50 years Of ‘Bad Boy’ Behavior Back in the 1990s when the Rolling Stones released their Voodoo Lounge album a lot of writers and commentators who cover the world of Entertainment scoffed at the idea that rockers approaching their golden years could still attract an audience and deliver the goods. Considering the amazing success of that album and tour, and others since that time, I wonder what those folks would have to say about the venerable bad boy band these days? The Rolling Stones formed in 1962, but the roots of that band began when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met and became friends at the Wentworth Primary School in the early 1950s. That meeting lead to the discovery that the two English lads had a mutual interest in music by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. They did not just like listening to that kind of music, but wanted to play it. After getting together with Dick and Mick Taylor, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart and Tony Chapman, Jagger and Richards began performing Rhythm and Blues music at a local club as ‘The Rollin’ Stones’. After the band began working with Giorgio Gomelsky who became their first real manager, he secured them a regular Sunday afternoon job at the Crawdaddy Club playing blues. Andrew Oldham and Eric Easton took over as managers of the band and changed their group name to The Rolling Stones at the suggestion of Brian Jones. The new duo wanted the band to look beyond just playing blues. Although they were not exactly thrilled with that suggestion, it was obvious that a change in the type of music they played and some of the people who played it was necessary for real success. Due to various disagreements and artistic differences, the band line up changed from 1962 to 1963 and became the original classic combination which most people know today as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts (with both Taylors playing on some studio recordings and manning keyboards when needed). After failing to sign The Beatles and losing millions as a result, Decca Records was quick to sign The Stones which lead to a recording of their first single which was Chuck Berry’s ‘Come On’. That was followed by the recording of ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ which was a song by The Beatles. The mop top Liverpool Lads became friends with The Stones and that was how the use of their song became a reality. The first USA Tour by The Rolling Stones took place in 1964. It was not at all what they hoped for because the band did not even have a single hit record in America yet. As one promoter who was being asked to book the group asked, “The Rolling Stones? Who are they? Do they look like The Beatles?” Despite their long hair, The Beatles presented a neat and tidy image crafted by their manager with matching suits and ties. The Rolling Stones were a lot less tidy and often made controversial and sometimes insulting comments to the press which lead to them being known as the ‘bad boys’ of rock and roll. The one glowing achievement that came out of the band’s 1964 tour was The T.A.M.I. Show (Teenage Awards Music International). It was a star studded two day event held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28-29, 1964. The concert included a mix of top African American and White Acts which made it controversial for the time. Among the performers were The Rolling Stones, James Brown, The Supremes, Chuck Berry, Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys and many others. The event was recorded using state of the art video cameras (and very innovative for that time) which allowed that footage to later be converted to film and released as a movie. It was eventually shown on TV as well. The Rolling Stones were propelled into rock super-stardom in 1965 by the release of “(I Can’t get No) Satisfaction” during their third USA Tour. The driving force of their success within the band became Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones. All three made major contributions to the music they wrote and/or performed. Most the the band’s early hits were recorded between 1965-1969 and include “Get Off My Cloud”, “Ruby Tuesday”, “Paint It Black”, “Jumpin Jack Flash” and “Mother’s Little Helper” which was an extremely controversial song about the abuse of prescription drugs by married women trying to cope with their stress filled lives. Despite their ‘bad boys’ image, the group agreed to change the lyrics to “Let’s Spend The Night Together” to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together” during their fourth appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. Mick Jagger made a huge stink about it with Sullivan, but went with the band’s decision after Sullivan threatened to ban them from the show and any other televised programs he could influence. Another controversy occurred around the same time when the band chose to appear on The Mike Douglas Show instead of a previously set gig on American Bandstand. The decision was made because Douglas was one of the first major TV Show hosts to have them on his show in 1964 when most others were not interested. It was also made because by that time Douglas was broadcasting in color, while bandstand was still going out in black and white. They performed “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. By 1969 it was obvious that some band members had serious drug problems. It was that very situation that lead to the sudden departure of Brian Jones from the band the same year. He later died after allegedly drowning in the swimming pool at his UK home (most people believed his over-dosed, then drowned). Jones had been a major creative force in the band. Today, the original members credit him with most of their early success and the name change. Mick Taylor took the place of Jones from 1969 until 1974. He was a serious musician who had little use for the constant disruptions in recording schedules caused by the other members who were always late or involved in some legal issues caused by their drug problems. That lead to his departure in 1974. After a lot of soul searching, The Rolling Stones hired guitarist Ronnie Wood in 1975. At that time he was part of a band called The Faces with Rod Stewart and remained with Faces for some time afterward until Stewart told the press that he was tired of Wood being on permanent loan to The Stones. From that point on individual band members in The Stones slowly began to clean up their acts when it came to drug use and continued to churn out big hits like “Start Me Up”. Bill Wyman retired from the band in 1993. Other musicians have been a part of the group since that time, but Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts remain and continue to rock on with sold out concerts and new music.
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