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The Rolling Stones are a British rock band who rose to prominence during the mid- 1960s. The band was named after a song by Muddy Waters, a leading exponent of hard-rocking blues. (This was a popular choice of name; at least two other bands are believed to have called themselves The Rolling Stones before Jagger/Richards' band was formed.) In their music, the Rolling Stones were the embodiment of the idea of importing blues style into popular music. Their first recordings were covers or imitations of rhythm and blues music, but they soon greatly extended the reach of their lyrics and playing, but rarely, if ever, lost their basic blues feel.
The original lineup included Mick Jagger (vocals), Brian Jones (guitar), Keith Richards (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Charlie WattsCharles Robert "Charlie" Watts (born June 2, 1941) is the drummer of The Rolling Stones. He is also a jazz bandleader and commercial artist. In June 2004, he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat, and underwent a course of radiotherapy. External links W (drums) and Dick Taylor (bass). Taylor left shortly after to form The Pretty Things, and was replaced by Bill WymanBill Wyman (born October 24, 1936) was the bassist for the British rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from its founding in 1962 until 1991. Wyman born was William George Perks in Penge, Kent ( UK). He took piano lessons from ages 10 to 13 and later tau. By the time of their first album release Ian Stewart was "officially" not part of the band, though he continued to record and perform with them.
Brian Jones, although popular and charismatic, was forced out of the band and died an enigmatic death, presumed accidental at the time, although accusations have surfaced that he was murdered. Jagger and Richards took over songwriting and performance leadership. Jones had favored sticking close to the blues base, although he had also experimented with the sitarThe sitar is a Hindustani classical music instrument. It typically has a gourd acting as the resonating chamber. A distinctive feature is the frets, which are moveable (allowing fine variation in tuning) and raised (so that resonant, or sympathetic, strin, but Jagger and Richards broadened their approach.
The band came into being in 1961 when former schoolfriends Jagger and Richards met Brian Jones. United by their shared interest in rhythm and blues music the group rehearsed extensively, playing in public only occasionally at Crawdaddy Club in London, where Alexis KornerAlexis Korner ( 1928 1984) was an English blues musician. Links http://alexis-korner. net/ Korner, Alexis Korner, Alexis.'s blues band was resident. At first Jones, a guitarist who also toyed with numerous other instruments, was their creative leader. Taking their name from a Muddy Waters song, the band rapidly gained a reputation in London for their frantic, highly energetic covers of the blues and R & B songs of their idols and, through manager Andrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog Oldham (born 1944) is a British rock and roll producer, impresario and author. He was best known as the manager of The Rolling Stones in the 1960s, taking a flamboyant style inspired by his role model and friend Phil Spector. With a flair for were signed to Decca RecordsDecca Records is a record label that was established in 1929. Former stockbroker Edward Lewis formed Decca Records Ltd in the United Kingdom in 1929. Within years, it was the second largest record label in the world, calling itself "The Supreme Record Com (who had passed when offered The BeatlesThe Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, " I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. Initially they affected the post). At this time their music was fairly primitive: Richards had learned much of his guitar playing from the recordings of Chuck Berry, and had not yet developed a style of his own, and Jagger was not as in control of the idioms as he would soon become. Already though, the rhythmic interplay between Watts and Richards was clearly the heart of their music.
The choice of material on their first record, a self-titled EP, reflected their live shows. Similarly, the album The Rolling Stones which appeared in April 1964 featured versions of such classics as "Route 66" (originally recorded by Nat King Cole), "Mona" ( Bo Diddley) and "Carol" ( Chuck Berry). The performances were pivotal in introducing a generation of white British youth to R'n'B music, and helped to fuel the " British Invasion". More importantly perhaps, while The Beatles were still suited, clean-cut boys with mop-top haircuts, the Stones cultivated the opposite image: decidedly unkempt, and posing for publicity photographs like a gang sulking at cameras because they were afraid of showing bad dentistry if they smiled.
The follow-up album, The Rolling Stones #2 was also composed mainly of cover tunes, only now augmented by a couple of songs written by the fledgling partnership of Jagger and Richards having been locked in a room by their manager who refused to let them out until they had produced something they could release that was self-written. Encouraged by Oldham, the band toured Europe and America continuously in their support, playing to packed crowds of screaming teenagers in scenes reminiscent of the height of Beatlemania. While on tour they took time to visit important locations in the history of the music that inspired them, recording the EP Five By Five at the studios of Chess Records in Chicago.
Back at home these early years of success represented a rare period of stability in the personal relationship between the band members. Jagger, Richards and Jones were sharing a house and Jones had begun to see Anita Pallenberg, an actress and model who introduced them to the circle of society in which she moved: a group of young artists, musicians and film makers. Prompted by Oldham, who possessed sufficient business acumen to see where money was to be made, Jagger and Richards became more prolific songwriters and 1965's Out Of Our Heads contained much self-penned material, including the classic " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," and saw the dynamic of the band began to change, with Jagger and Richards starting to emerge as the perceived leaders of the band. Jones, not unaware of his reduced importance, retreated into drug abuse, alienating both Richards and Pallenberg, who began a liaison that would last over ten years. During this period Pallenberg's opinions about the music, as one of the few people the band trusted, should not be underestimated.
With the main songwriters maintaining their rate of production, Aftermath (1966) continued the progression, consisting entirely of Jagger/Richards compositions including "Mother's Little Helper," about pill abuse, and the misogynistic "Under My Thumb," whereas on Between The Buttons (1967) they wore the influences of their many contemporaries, including The Who and The Kinks.