The Rolling Stones have long been one of the most influential bands in rock and roll history. By drawing influence from various musical genres, they established an iconic sound which remains widely recognized today.
Every guitarist dreams of becoming Keith Richards, while every rhythm section aspires to achieve the legendary swinging abilities of Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.
Origins
No other rock band can rival The Rolling Stones’ longevity or popularity: Jagger, Richards and Watts continue to fill stadiums worldwide and remain an influential force in modern music. Their extraordinary influence stems in large part from not emulating American blues, country, R&B as much as celebrating it with unabashed nonchalance that allows outsiders’ musical explorations to feel fresh instead of reverent.
The Rolling Stones first hit UK #1 with this jump blues throwback by The Valentinos — but what truly stands out here is their raw, rough version. It features some of the band‘s raunchiest acoustic guitar work ever heard and has amassed over 315 million Spotify streams and 100+ million YouTube views since. This kind of bold song helped establish them both live and on records.
Members
Apart from the Beatles, no rock band has enjoyed such longevity as The Rolling Stones have. In the ’60s they were rock’s premier touring act, filling stadiums around the globe. Their extravagant entourages would fill stadiums around the globe.
The Rolling Stones have left us with too many iconic singles and albums to count; their peak of success came during 1968 through 1969 when “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and Beggars Banquet brought them back to their blues roots.
Mick Jagger was at the core of The Stones. Guitarist Keith Richards and drummer Charlie Watts formed its core membership, while guitarist Ronnie Wood was welcomed as their newest member in 1975. Their 1981 album Tattoo You launched a world tour that proved highly successful; even during family crises, legal troubles, drugs abuse, or drifting during their later years; this band continued to fill stadiums globally.
Hits
Few bands ever achieved the unique feat of creating songs that simultaneously define both their careers and rock ‘n’ roll as an artform, like The Stones did with “Sticky Fingers,” an evergreen song about teenage rebellion and life on the fast lane.
Jagger and Richards wrote this heartbreaking ballad for Marianne Faithfull, who recorded it as her debut hit single. A year later, Mick played it again alongside baroque string arrangements by Jack Nitzsche for the Stones version that went on to top charts across the globe – though its first performance on Ed Sullivan’s show caused shockwaves among audience members!
This song from The Rolling Stones’ psychedelic phase tells of a cad who has grown tired of chasing tail and instead settled down with reliable women. Bill Wyman’s rattling bass, Ian McLagen’s Wurlitzer piano and Mel Collins’ slippery tenor sax give this track its bluesier groove, while Mick’s harmonica gives the track its half-crocked charm.
Tours
The Rolling Stones continue to bring rock’n’roll to a wide audience at age 80 and 79 respectively, and have shown no sign of slowing down on tour dubbed Hackney Diamonds that kicked off April at NRG Stadium in Houston and concludes July 17 near San Francisco at Levi’s Stadium.
The Stones joined forces with AARP for their forthcoming concerts, offering members special pre-sale tickets. Metallica joined in for one show during the tour; filmmaker Haskell Wexler initially planned on documenting it himself but due to disagreements in terms of form and content decided against making a documentary of the event.
McLaren engineers provided assistance in the erection process at several venues during this tour, such as East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. On-site inspections and meetings with permitting agencies were held to explain how access features such as two large stair towers at the back of the stage structure and an ADA lift operated.