ROLL OF A LIFETIME FOUNDING BASSIST BILL WYMAN LOOKS BACK AT THE STONES.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Bill Wyman Bill Wyman (born William George Perks on 24 October 1936) was the bassist for the English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from its founding in 1962 until 1993. didn't expect the Rolling Stones Rolling Stones, English rock music group that rose to prominence in the mid-1960s and continues to exert great influence. Members have included singer Mick Jagger (Michael Phillip Jagger), 1943–; guitarists Brian Jones to last. ``I had an 8-month-old son at the time, and I thought I'd keep a few things - just like anybody might - to show him I was in a rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. band once, that we made a record and were on TV.'' As the Stones got bigger, Wyman, the band's original bass player, kept collecting - posters, ticket stubs stubs The shares of equity in a firm that is financed almost completely with debt. Stubs are often created when firms go through a leveraged buyout or pay big cash dividends in order to fend off a takeover. , newspaper and magazine articles, playlists, private photos and whatnot what·not n. 1. A minor or unspecified object or article. 2. A set of light, open shelves for ornaments. pron. . ``I continued to save them because I found it quite interesting and here we are today. And I've got this massive archive and all the guys used to ridicule it and say, 'Why're you keeping all that rubbish?' '' The memorabilia has become the basis for Wyman's new book, ``Rolling With the Stones'' (DK Publishing; $50), his first-person account of what went on during his 31 years with the band. ``Some 95 percent of the books about the Rolling Stones are just filled with scandal gossip and invented stories and don't give justice to what the band achieved over the years,'' says Wyman, who was talking from his London home. The handsome coffee-table book cof·fee-ta·ble book n. An oversize book of elaborate design that may be used for display, as on a coffee table. coffee-table book Noun a large expensive illustrated book Noun 1. has plenty of fascinating bits and doesn't skirt the darker side of the band's history - drugs, groupies, fights, Brian Jones' death - but Wyman wasn't interested in perpetuating myths like the rumored murder of Jones, which he calls outrageous. Since he left the band in 1993, Wyman has devoted himself to his own music and other interests, including an earlier book, ``Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey: A Journey to Music's Heart & Soul.'' The 66-year-old ex-Stone remarried 10 years ago and has three daughters, ages 8, 6 and 4. As a man who liked to stay in the shadows on stage - ``I'm not an out-front person'' - Wyman had the luxury of being in the middle of rock 'n' roll's biggest circus while keeping a distance at the same time. With the Stones coming to town this week, we asked Wyman - who with Charlie Watts formed the ``straightest rhythm section Noun 1. rhythm section - the section of a band or orchestra that plays percussion instruments percussion section, percussion section - a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class in rock 'n' roll'' - to give us a few snapshots of the band. GREATEST ROCK 'N' ROLL BAND OF ALL TIME?: (Takes a deep breath and laughs.) That's a matter of opinion. When the label first came up, I probably thought to myself, ``Yeah, we're probably one of the best live bands there is and have been from the beginning,'' and probably still are now - or they are now in the present day - because they have those fantastic front men. And something happens when the band's on stage. They just gelled, always did and always will. And many people have tried to imitate the Stones and never quite got it right. I always thought that we were a really good bad, but there are lots of really good bands. ... Throughout my entire career I always thought this band was a great band live - blow anybody off the stage. In the studio - maybe not quite as good as the Beatles or artists like that who maybe wrote slightly better songs. But never mind, 'cause that's my opinion. I only understood the magnitude of this band when I did this book. ... It kind of hit me how big and important this band was over 40 years. BRIAN JONES For other persons named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation). Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was a founding member, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and backing singer in the English rock group The Rolling Stones. (guitarist, 1962-69): Hugely important at the beginning because he formed the band. He chose the members. He named the band. He chose the music we played. He got us gigs ... did marvelous things on a lot of songs in the mid-'60s with dulcimers, marimbas - anything he put his hands on he could get a tune out of and turned songs around into something they weren't when they started. Very influential, very important, and then slowly lost it - highly intelligent - and just kind of wasted it and blew it all away. Like John Lennon Noun 1. John Lennon - English rock star and guitarist and songwriter who with Paul McCartney wrote most of the music for the Beatles (1940-1980) Lennon said, ``He ran out of runway.'' CHARLIE WATTS (drummer, 1963-present): Just a wonder ... one of the sweetest blokes I've ever met ... gentle and quiet. ... He can sum up a situation in one line, which can floor you every time. A fantastic drummer, and I still would love to play with him again if he wasn't so busy. He sent me a parcel from the (current) tour, as if I were in some kind of German prison camp during the war, of T-shirts, programs, posters. ... He does sweet things like that. MICK JAGGER Noun 1. Mick Jagger - English rock star (born in 1943) Jagger, Michael Philip Jagger (lead singer, 1962-present): Great in business. He's brilliant in picking other people's minds and learning fast. ... Of course he's absolutely a genius on stage and very detailed. He's not always right. He tries to push his thing in the studio and he will be wrong sometimes. But he usually has the right idea of what he wants and he usually gets it. You feel he's very unsympathetic with many things that trouble you personally, but when crunch time comes, he will come up with the goods. My father died while we were on tour in Japan in 1990, and the two people who came to my aid - because I had to play a concert that night and six more in the next week - were Charlie and Mick. Mick slid a note under my door. ... I really like him sometimes and I really don't like him sometimes. ... (Laughs) He can switch. He can be be two, four, 10 people, and I like the ordinary person he is when he's down to Earth and basic. I can relate to that. I can't relate to the show-biz bit he comes on with because I see right through it. KEITH RICHARDS (guitarist, 1962-present): In the early days, I was quite close to him. In the '70s I wasn't because of the drug thing and into the '80s. After that we were just working mates, really. On a personal level, I don't mix with him because he's not the same kind of person as me. We don't like the same kinds of things. I find him difficult. Sometimes he's a bully. Sometimes he's sweet. But he's very supportive, too. I remember one occasion when somebody said something detrimental about me or Charlie and he just leapt up and punched them in the face. He won't hear anything bad about anybody in the band. ... He's a great, great rhythm guitarist. I don't think anybody gets rhythm down like him. ... And he comes up with some great songs. RON WOOD Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood (born June 1, 1947 in Hillingdon, London) is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a member of The Rolling Stones, Faces, and The Jeff Beck Group. (guitarist, 1976-present): Woody is like the clown, isn't he? I love Woody 'cause he's just a loon loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loons float low in the water and their legs are placed far back. . I was great mates with (Who drummer) Keith Moon Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. Moon became known for an innovative and dramatic style of drumming, often eschewing basic back beats for a fluid, extremely busy technique focused on fast, cascading rolls across for many years. ... Moony moon·y adj. moon·i·er, moon·i·est 1. Of or suggestive of the moon or moonlight. 2. Moonlit. 3. Dreamy in mood or nature; absent-minded. was a loon and Woody's like that. He was a great link between me and Charlie - the quiet ones - and Mick and Keith. In enthusiasm he's unbounded. ... He plays some loony stuff on stage when he's running around and doing somersaults. In the studio, he works very well with Keith and they link very well musically. MICK TAYLOR Michael "Mick" Kevin Taylor (born 17 January, 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is an English musician best known as the former guitarist for The Rolling Stones. Biography Early career (guitarist, 1969-74): He was a genius player when he joined us in 1969. He took the band somewhere else musically because he was playing things you wouldn't think of doing and his slide playing was absolutely stunning. The only drawbacks of him were he was very moody and also when he was on stage he only looked at his guitar. He never looked out at the audience or acknowledged them. Even I did that. ... He was never quite satisfied with what he was doing. ... He wasn't satisfied with what he was doing in the Stones. That's why he left. ... And, of course, he's had the problem with drugs, too. But he's a nice guy underneath it all. IAN STEWART Ian Stewart is a name shared by several people:
that was then ... 1962 Brian Jones forms the Rollin' Stones; first gig at the Marquee Club The Marquee is a legendary music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962. , London 1963 Band signs with Decca Records and is renamed the Rolling Stones; first English tour with the Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley 1964 First American First American may refer to:
1965 First No. 1 single, ``(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction''; second No. 1 single, ``Get Off of My Cloud'' 1966 Third No. 1 single ``Paint It, Black'' 1967 Jagger jag 1 n. 1. A sharp projection; a barb. 2. a. A hanging flap along the edge of a garment. b. A slash or slit in a garment exposing material of a different color. tr.v. , Richards and Jones arrested separately for drug possession this year; Jagger and then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull visit the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi orig. Mahad Prasad Varma (born 1911?, India) Indian religious leader, founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM). He took a degree in physics before going to the Himalayas to study the Advaita school of Vedanta religious thought with the with the Beatles; fourth No. 1 single, ``Ruby Tuesday'' 1968 Band fires manager Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born January 29 1944) is an English 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. and hires Allen Klein Allen Klein (born December 18, 1931) is an American businessman and record label executive. He is best known (and somewhat notorious) for his tenacious management of rock and roll performers in the 1960s, and the subsequent hostile acquisition and control of their works. ; ``Beggar's Banquet'' released 1969 Jones and the band part company - a few weeks later, he drowns in his own pool; Mick Taylor joins band; fifth No. 1 single, ``Honky Tonk Women''; ``Let It Bleed'' released; 300,000 fans attend the free Altamont concert, where Hell Angels stab a man to death 1971 Mick and Bianca Jagger marry (divorced 1977); Rolling Stones Records Rolling Stones Records is the record label formed by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman in 1970, after their recording contract with Decca Records expired. launched; ``Sticky Fingers'' released; band goes into tax exile in France; sixth No. 1 single, ``Brown Sugar'' 1972 ``Exile on Main St.'' released 1973 Seventh No. 1 single, ``Angie'' 1974 ``It's Only Rock and Roll'' released; Taylor leaves band 1976 Ron Wood joins band 1977 Richard arrested in Canada for heroin possession 1978 ``Some Girls'' released; eighth (and last) No. 1 single, ``Miss You'' 1981 ``Tattoo You'' released 1985 Ian Stewart (piano/road manager) dies of a massive heart attack 1989 Band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in ; ``Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle'' tour 1990 Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, together since 1977, marry (divorced 1999) 1993 Bill Wyman leaves band 1994 ``Voodoo Lounge'' tour 1997 ``Bridges to Babylon'' tour 1999 ``No Security'' tour - Researched by Eric Wolfe ... this is now ROLLING STONES Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. When: 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets: $51.75 to $362.75. Call (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com Where: Edison International Field, 2000 Gene Autry Way, Anaheim. When: 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $50 to $350. Call (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com Where: Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. When: 8 p.m. Nov. 4. Tickets: $53.50. Call (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com CAPTION(S): 8 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) TIME IS ON THEIR SIDE In their 40th year, the Stones come crashing into L.A. (2) BRIAN JONES (3) CHARLIE WATTS (4) MICK JAGGER (5) KEITH RICHARDS (6) RON WOOD (7) MICK TAYLOR (8) ROLLING STONES Box: (1) that was then... (see text) (2) ... this is now (see text) |
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