| Rolling Stones mini-bio:
Originally billed as the Rollin' Stones, the first line-up of this immemorial English 60s unit was a nucleus of Mick Jagger (born Michael Philip Jagger, 26 July 1943, Dartford, Kent, England; vocals), Keith Richards (b.
18 December 1943, Dartford, Kent, England; guitar), Brian Jones (b. Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones, 28 February 1942, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, d. 3 July 1969, Hartfield, Sussex, England; rhythm guitar) and Ian Stewart (b. 18 July 1938, Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland, d.
12 December 1985; piano). Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were primary school friends who resumed their camaraderie in their closing teenage years after finding they had a mutual love for R&B and particularly the music of Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley.
Initially, they were teamed with bass player Dick Taylor (b. Richard Clifford Taylor, 28 January 1943, Dartford, Kent, England, later of the Pretty Things) and before long their ranks extended to include Jones, Stewart and occasional drummer Tony Chapman.
Their patron at this point was the renowned musician Alexis Korner, who had arranged their debut gig at London's Marquee club on 21 July 1962. In their first few months the band met some opposition from jazz and blues aficionados for their alleged lack of musical "purity" and the line-up remained unsettled for several months.
In late 1962, bass player Bill Wyman (b. William George Perks, 24 October 1936, Lewisham, South London, England) replaced Dick Taylor while drummers came and went, including Carlo Little (from Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages) and Mick Avory (later of the Kinks, who was billed as appearing at their debut gig, but did not play).
It was not until as late as January 1963 that drummer Charlie Watts (b. Charles Robert Watts, 2 June 1941, Wembley, Middlesex, England) reluctantly surrendered his day job and committed himself to the band. After securing a residency at Giorgio Gomelsky's Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, the Rolling Stones' live reputation spread rapidly through London's hip cognoscenti.
One evening, the flamboyant Andrew Loog Oldham (b. 29 January 1944, Paddington, London, England), appeared at the club and was so entranced by the commercial prospects of Jagger's unbridled sexuality that he wrested the band away from Gomelsky and, backed by the financial and business clout of agent Eric Easton, became their manager.
Within weeks, Oldham had produced their first couple of official recordings at IBC Studios. By this time, record company scouts were on the prowl with Decca Records' Dick Rowe leading the march and successfully signing the band.
After re-purchasing the IBC demos, Oldham selected Chuck Berry's "Come On' as the Rolling Stones" debut single. The record was promoted on the prestigious UK television pop programme Thank Your Lucky Stars and the band was featured sporting matching hounds-tooth jackets with velvet collars.
This was to be one of Oldham's few concessions to propriety for he would soon be pushing the boys as unregenerate rebels. Unfortunately, pianist Ian Stewart was not deemed sufficiently pop star-like for Oldham's purpose and was unceremoniously removed from the line-up, although he remained road manager and occasional pianist.
After supporting the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Gene Vincent and Bo Diddley on a Don Arden UK package tour, the Rolling Stones released their second single, a gift from John Lennon and Paul McCartney entitled "I Wanna Be Your Man".
The disc fared better than its predecessor climbing into the Top 10 in January 1964. That same month the band enjoyed their first bill-topping tour supported by the Ronettes. The early months of 1964 saw the Rolling Stones catapulted to fame amid outrage and controversy about the surliness of their demeanour and the length of their hair.
This was still a world in which the older members of the community were barely coming to terms with the Beatles neatly-groomed mop tops. While newspapers asked "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?", the quintet engaged in a flurry of recording activity which saw the release of an EP and an album both titled The Rolling Stones.
The discs consisted almost exclusively of extraneous material and captured the band at their most derivative stage. Already, however, there were strong signs of an ability to combine different styles. The third single, "Not Fade Away", saw them fuse Buddy Holly's quaint original with a chunky Bo Diddley beat that highlighted Jagger's vocal to considerable effect.
The presence of Phil Spector and Gene Pitney at these sessions underlined how hip the Rolling Stones had already become in the music business after such a short time. With the momentum increasing by the month, Oldham characteristically over-reached himself by organizing a US tour which proved premature and disappointing.
After returning to the UK, the band released a decisive cover version of the Valentinos' "It's All Over Now', which gave them their first number 1. A bestselling EP, Five By Five, cemented their growing reputation, while a national tour escalated into a series of near riots with scenes of hysteria wherever they played.
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