The Rolling Stones are the legendary British rock band known for many popular hits, such as Paint it Black, Lady Jane, Ruby Tuesday, and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Almost everyone who attended their shows is quick to comment on their ability to start you up and shake your hips. Their song "Satisfaction" (1965) was composed by Keith Richards in his sleep, and with the addition of provocative lyrics by Mick Jagger it became the greatest hit and their calling card on each and every show.
In 1966, after The Beatles stopped giving live performances, The Rolling Stones took over as the unofficial "biggest touring band in the world" for the next few years. During 1966-1969 they toured the world, and constantly updated their song-list with many great hits like "Lets Spend the night together" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) and "Honky tonk woman" (1969). The incredible international success of the Stones came with a sad side, caused by Brian's drug and alcohol abuse that impaired his speech and appearance, so the band-mates had to replace him. In July 1969, Brian Jones died of drowning in his swimming pool while having signs of drug overdose. Upon Richards's and Jagger's approval, guitarist Mick Taylor took Brian's place. Brian's death at age 27 made him one of the first members of the infamous "27 Club" of rock stars who died at that age. Although Brian's estrangement from his band-mates, and his numerous arrests were caused by his personal problems with drugs, both Richards and Jagger were blamed at the time for Brian's death. The loss of one of their founding members was a painful moment for the Stones. However, at the end of the 1960s their creativity reached the new highs. Their albums "Beggars Banquet" (1968) and "Sticky Fingers" (1971) were among the most popular albums they ever made, having such hits as "Wild Horses" and "Brown Sugar."
During the 1970s The Rolling Stones remained the biggest band in the world, albeit they were rivaled by the Led Zeppelin. The Stones made thousands of live performances and multi-million record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973), "It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974), "Hot Stuff" (1976) and "Respectable" (1978). At that time both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had individual ambitions, and applied their untamed creativity in various projects outside the Stones. Keith released his own single. In 1974 Ron Wood had replaced Mick Taylor on guitar and Keith and Ron both played lead guitars. During the decade Keith Richards had a family crisis on his hands, and suffered through emotional pain and drug abuse, albeit it didn't stop him from being himself. In 1980 the group released "Emotional Rescue" which Keith Richards didn't care for, and the group didn't even tour to promote the album. In 1981 with the release of 'Tattoo You', the group went on a major world tour filling stadiums in the US and in Europe. In 1983 the Stones recorded the album "Undercover" at the Compass Point in Nassau and during this time Mick and Keith were having arguments over rights of the group. After having created tens of albums and over a hundred popular songs together, their legendary song-writing partnership was undergoing the most painful test: the bitter rivalry between two enormously talented and equally ambitious superstars.
Mick Jagger is the heart of "The Stones" and Keith Richards - the soul. The two had carried on their early image of unkempt youth, had survived ups and downs in their careers and personal lives, and remained the core of the band since they shared a flat with the late Brian Jones in London in 1962. Two other remaining members are drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood. "The Stones" were part of the "British Invasion" in international culture during the 1960s, and has been extremely popular and famous for their 60s craze, hot stuff and sex drive. Since the 1970s they remained one of the biggest entertainment acts touring the world with a retinue of jet-set hangers-on. Their inimitable shows, no matter the best, or the worst, has been played with fire and emotion, giving their audiences the kind of music they do best - it's only rock'n roll.
Mick Jagger dropped out of college and his every move on-stage and off-stage seemed to signal a challenge to "respectable" standards. He never received a formal musical education, and even could not read music. However, he worked hard and emerged as the lead singer and songwriter in partnership with Richards, following the example of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting for The Beatles. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Jagger released solo albums with his original songs, as well as his versions of such hits as 'Use Me' by songwriter Bill Withers. Jagger also starred in several films, such as Freejack(1992), Bent (1997), and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001). Mick Jagger fathered seven children from four women, donated to numerous school and charities, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in 2003.
Keith Richards, was a schoolmate of Mick Jagger since the primary school. In 1960 they contemplated starting up a band together. Since the formation of the Rolling Stones in 1962, Richards has been the principal songwriting partner with Jagger, and most of the songs on all Rolling Stones albums are credited to Jagger/Richards. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Richards toured with The New Barbarians, and also was the front-man of the X-pensive Winos in the 1980s. Besides his music career, Richards made a cameo appearance as the father of Jack Sparrow in Пираты Карибского моря: На краю Света(2007) filmed by his friend, director Gore Verbinski.
Other members of The Rolling Stones has been also enjoying their individual careers outside of the band. Multi-instrumentalist Ron Wood collaborated with such performers as Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and Aretha Franklin, among others. His collaboration with Rod Stewart resulted in a hit album. Wood is also an accomplished artist who sold about $10 million worth of his artworks. Drummer Charlie Watts, who has been ever faithful to his one and only wife, Shirley, is known for his consistency in refusing sexual favors from groupies. He is also a jazz band-leader, and commercial artist, who had solo shows and successfully auctioned his artworks.
The Rolling Stones have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and sold over 200 million records word-wide during their career spanning over 45 years. "The Stones" played in all kinds of spaces from small clubs to big stadium arenas. In 2007 they even rocked the Tsar's Winter Palace with fifty thousand fans in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the communist revolution took place. They gave more large-scale shows internationally than any other existing band in the world, culminating in their 2005-2007 "A Bigger Band" tour with 147 concerts, the highest grossing tour of all time with $559 million earned.
Come on, Stones, give us more of your respectable shows, get us rocking, we can make it if we try.
2012–present: 50th anniversary- "GRRR!", Glastonbury and future
Jagger and Richards in Hyde Park during a Rolling Stones concert, 2013.
The Rolling Stones celebrated their 50th anniversary in the summer of 2012 by releasing a large hardback book titled 50. A new take on the band's lip-and-tongue logo, designed by Shepard Fairey, was also released and used during the celebrations.
The documentary titled Crossfire Hurricane, directed by Brett Morgen, was released in October 2012. Approximately fifty hours of interviews were conducted by Morgen for use for the documentary, including interviews with Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, which Morgen says are "the most extensive group interviews they've ever done." This would be the first official career-spanning documentary since 1989's 25x5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones, which was filmed for their 25th anniversary in 1988.
A new compilation album, GRRR!, was released on 12 November, available in four different formats and including two new tracks, "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot", which were recorded at Studio Guillaume Tell in Paris, France, some time within the last few weeks of August 2012. The album debuted at #3 in the UK and #19 in the US, and its only single "Doom and Gloom" reached #61 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "Doom and Gloom" featuring Noomi Rapacewas released on 20 November. GRRR! went on to move over 1.4 million copies worldwide.
On 25 November 2012, the Stones kicked off their 50 & Counting... tour at London's O2 Arena, where they were joined by Jeff Beck. At their second show in London on 29 November the group were joined onstage by Eric Clapton and Florence Welch. Their third anniversary concert took place on 8 December at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. The last two dates were at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on 13 and 15 December, and the band were joined byBruce Springsteen and blues rock band The Black Keys on the final night.
They also played two songs at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief.
The Stones played nineteen shows in the US in spring 2013, before playing three shows in Europe, one at Glastonbury Festival 2013 and two in Hyde Park, London. On Richard Bacon's BBC Radio 5 Live show on 3 April 2013 it was announced that the Stones would hold a concert in Hyde Park as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, although unlike their 1969 performance in the park it would not be free, tickets being £95 each. Jagger quipped, "I'll try and keep the poetry to a minimum," and remarked, in respect of the white dress that he wore for the 1969 concert, "I can still just about get into the zippers." Richards announced 9 April 2013 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that Mick Taylor would be performing with the band for shows on the 50 & Counting...tour. The Rolling Stones made their Glastonbury debut, headlining on Saturday 29 June 2013. Hyde Park Live, a live album recorded at Hyde Park on 6 and 13 July 2013, was released exclusively as a digital download through iTunes on 22 July 2013 and peaked at #16 in the UK and #19 in the US. A live DVD, Sweet Summer Sun: Live in Hyde Park, was released on 11 November 2013.
In February 2014, the band has embarked on the "14 On Fire" tour spanning Middle East, Asia, Oceania and Europe due to last until Summer 2014.
On March 17th, 2014, the sudden tragic death in New York CIty of L'Wren Scott, the longtime girlfriend/collaborator of Mick Jagger, was reported by various news sources as the Rolling Stones were in Australia preparing for their shows there. It was announced on their website that those shows were canceled for that reason, and would be rescheduled at a later date.