The Rolling Stones....

For over a 5 year period, from 1967 to about 1973, The Rolling Stones were the greatest rock n' roll band on Earth. Some say they still are and without a doubt they are the longest running rock n' roll band of all time and they are a paragon of consistency in the industry in regard to touring and album production and quality. The Rolling Stones very seldom make bad music and that is probably because unlike other bands that still exist today, i.e. The Four Tops, The Temptations, and the Beach Boys, the Stones have had the same nucleus all these years. Besides a bit of a revolving door when it comes to guitarists, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ron Wood have all been together for ages, and up until 1993 Bill Wyman was still around. The original Stones lineup started in 1962 (I'm leaving out Ian Stewart because he wasn't a consistent member at this point) with Mick Jagger (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Keith Richards (vocals, guitar), Brian Jones (guitar, percussion), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). This lineup remained intact until 1969 when Brian Jones, who was the founder of the Rolling Stones was essentially told to leave the band. This was because of escalating substance abuse probably because Mick and Keith had taken over the leadership of his band, and they had also stolen his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg. Brian felt under-appreciated, and like he'd been robbed, but addiction made him complacent so he just let all this happen. When it did, he was too incapacitated to stop it and Mick asked him to go because he wasn't worth a damn on stage anymore. So, they hired Mick Taylor, a straight-edged but very talented blues guitar player. A few days later Brian Jones was found dead. He had apparently committed suicide. Not to get ahead of myself here, but I just wanted to get the Brian Jones story out there, because he is in no way a side note. It was his organization and his vision and his passion of Blues and R&B that got this band started in the first place. Like other blues bands of the time, they LOVED American music, and would hang out in underground r&b clubs in London. Their name comes from a Muddy Waters song, "Rolling Stone." Like the Beatles, and the Yardbirds, and the Animals they covered lots of American material at their start. Examples are Chuck Berry's "Oh Carol". Irma Thomas' "Time Is On My Side", Rufus Thomas's "Walkin' The Dog" and Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On."

So up until 1965 they were just one of those British Invasion bands playing American music and they kind of got lost in the wash, although they always gave the impression that they were a bit harder edged than some of their counterparts and especially the Beatles. But their big breakthrough as songwriters came when Keith Richards woke up with the riff for "Satisfaction" in his head in Clearwater, Florida. He was going to give it to Otis Redding to sing, which Otis eventually did, but he kept it and this eventually started a great partnership of Jagger-Richards songs. Notice the name, much like Lennon-McCartney, Goffen-King, Leiber-Stoller. They emerged as great songwriters with numbers like "Ruby Tuesday" "Under My Thumb" and "Paint It Black." They showed they weren't afraid to shock with songs like "Let's Spend The Night Together." This was certainly not commonplace in 1966, and even if songs were about sex, they were never expressed so bluntly. As the Beatles faded out at the end of the 60s, the Stones stepped in with a series of stellar albums that showed diversity, prowess, and most of all talent. This series of albums is just as good as any stretch by a rock and roll group ever. It started with "Beggar's Banquet" then "Let It Bleed" then "Sticky Fingers" and finally their masterpiece and ultimate tribute to American roots music "Exile On Main St." which is an album I think everyone should own. All of these are great purchases by the way. I would love to go into more detail about these albums but unfortunately there is little time and I want to get to the rest of the notes at this point. I also apologize for not posting this stuff earlier but it has been pretty hectic on my end catching up on work and dealing with my own responsibilities.

I would also elaborate on Altamont, but I think the excerpt we watched from "Gimme Shelter" told you guys all you needed to know, which is Free Concert+Hells Angels+Beer+Drugs=Death. The man apparently had a gun, which the video showed, but no one deserved to die at the Altamont Festival, and it was one of the great tragedies in the music world to that time. Rather than have me tell you which Stones albums to buy, go to allmusic,com and look up the Stones' discography they have great reviewers and it will give you an idea of some decent compilations besides 40 Licks. Also, read Keith Richards' autobiography when it comes out this summer.