Making the Rolling Stones

OVERVIEW

In the last lesson, we looked at the Beatles. In this lesson, we will consider their counterparts in the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones. As we will see, the Rolling Stones had a very different trajectory than the Beatles did. They began as a blues cover band in London, and although their career exploded at about the same time as the Beatles', they far outlived their Fab Four counterparts as a group. Today, the members of the Rolling Stones are in their seventies and still going strong.

OBJECTIVES

Be ready to:

Recall the British blues revival tradition, which began as British musicians studied and emulated the music of Chicago blues musicians such as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters

Recall the early days of the Rolling Stones and consider how their style changed as they moved from recording mostly covers of blues music to writing their own material

Identify the many ways in which the Rolling Stones were the opposite of the Beatles, apart from being a British rock band that was popular beginning in the middle of the 1960s

Making the Rolling Stones

Brian Jones

The Rolling Stones initially formed as a cover band devoted to American blues records. In fact, their name comes from the title of a Muddy Waters song, "Rollin' Stone." The band's earliest incarnation included Richards, Jagger, and guitarist Brian Jones. The group began by playing in London clubs such as the Marquee and the Eating Club. In 1963, Jagger, Jones, and Richards were joined by bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts, and they took on a regular weekly performance at the Richmond Crawdaddy Club. Andrew Loog Oldham began managing the band in May of 1963.

The Stones signed a record deal with Decca in 1963 which allowed them to retain ownership of their own recordings.They were also allowed to have unprecedented lengths of time in the recording studio, which gave them the chance to exercise a significant amount of creative freedom. Even though Oldham had no recording studio experience, he became the band's producer. The Rolling Stones' first singles on Decca were covers of songs by American rock and roll artists: "Come On ♫" was a cover of a Chuck Berry tune and "Not Fade Away ♫" was a cover of a Buddy Holly song. They also recorded "I Wanna Be Your Man ♫," which had been written for the group by none other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The Rolling Stones had a relatively rough, brash sound in their recordings, which complemented their manners and physical appearance. Whereas the Beatles were the clean-cut "nice guys" among the invading British bands of the 1960s, the Rolling Stones were the "bad boys." The group dressed far more casually in concert than the Beatles did, eschewing matching suits for whatever they felt like wearing. They had long hair and foul mouths, a stark contrast to the mop tops and well-rehearsed banter of the Beatles. They made no secret of their womanizing and drug use. One publication called the members of the Rolling Stones "five indolent morons who seem to really enjoy wallowing in the swill-tub of their own repulsiveness." Another called them "the ugliest pop group in Britain , a caveman-like quintet." Oldham was delighted by this type of publicity and encouraged it. For example, he asked the members of the Stones not to smile for the photo that appeared on the cover of their first album, and he encouraged the press to run headlines such as, "Would You Let Your Daughter Marry a Rolling Stone?"

"The Rolling Stones are violence. Their music penetrates the raw nerve endings of their listeners and finds its way into the groove marked 'release of frustration."

-Jon Landau

"The Rolling Stones have been the best of all possible worlds: they have the lack of pretension and sentimentality associated with the blues, the rawness and toughness of hard rock, and the depth which always makes you feel that they are in the midst of saying something. They have never impressed me as being kitsch."

-Jon Landau

FUN FACTS

"Piano player Ian Stewart, considered the "6th Stone," was not an official member of the group because manager Andrew Loog Oldham felt he didn't fit the Stones image. "

Songfacts