The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World
From 1960 thru 1963, many experts have classified the music of that period as "the doldrums". Elvis Presley, who had exploded on the scene in the middle fifties, had joined the army in 1958, Buddy Holly, who gave us some great early rock and roll tunes, had died in a plane crash in 1959, and Bill Haley and his Comets were suffering from diminishing success. For close to four years the music scene just drifted along as the excitement that Elvis, Buddy, and the Comets had earlier brought out in the younger generation was nowhere to be found. Music didn't seem to have a direction as diverse types of music kept hitting the record stores and the airways. The songs were mostly ballads and love songs, many sung by performers who were marked more for their looks than their music. Some of the artists during that period were pop stars such as Bobby Vee, Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, Bobby Vinton, and even television and movie stars Frankie Avalon and Shelly Fabares. Folk music was trying hard with The Kingston Trio, The Letterman, The Brothers Four, and Peter Paul and Mary. Doo-wop produced groups like The Marcels, The Penguins, the Del-Satins, and The Crests. The younger generation, starving for music to dance and shake to, reached out to anything that had any kind of beat to it. Music was stale and was headed nowhere until a miracle hit the music industry in 1964. Out of Liverpool, a seaport town in England, came a group of four young men who literally took the music world by storm. They called themselves The Beatles and they changed music forever. They made their American debut in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show which was viewed on television by an astonishing 73 million people. Their rock and roll sound gave energy and life into music that had never been witnessed, and they took America and the rest of the world like a hurricane. Kids were in a frenzy like had never been seen before and the Beatles became world famous overnight. This produced a flood of both British and American groups trying to replicate the same magic. One such group from London was a rhythm and blues band called The Rolling Stones. When I first heard one of their hits in 1965, called "Satisfaction", I was instantly hooked. Unlike the Beatles, this group had a "bluesy" hard edge to them that was refreshing and unique. Where the Beatles appealed to numerous age groups, sex, and creed, the Stones were marketed as more hard edged and were considered to be the Beatles opposites and were their number one rival. I personally found that during the sixties you were either a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones fan and there was usually no middle ground. When meeting a new person you were usually asked right off if you were "Beatles or Stones?", and you were judged on the spot for your answer. The Stones were made up of Mick Jagger on vocals and harmonica, Keith Richards on guitar, Brian Jones on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass, and Charlie Watts on drums. The first Stones album that I purchased was called "The Rolling Stones Now", and had a lot of great rhythm and blues songs like "Down the Road Apiece", "Mona", "Little Red Rooster", and "Surprise, Surprise". After purchasing more of their albums, I found that each one was a gold mine in itself, with a lot of influence from great blues men such as Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, and Willie Dixon. The Stones had taken blues and successfully transposed it into a great rock and roll sound. In 1966 they released one of my favorite albums of all time called "Aftermath" which featured one of my all time favorite songs, "Paint It Black", which can be played at the end of the blog. The album also included the great song "Lady Jane" (with Brian Jones playing a dulcimer), the 11-1/2 minute song "Going Home", and a top 10 hit "Under My Thumb". The next year brought us "Let's Spend the Night Together", and "Ruby Tuesday" both off their "Between the Buttons" album. In 1968, the Stones really exploded with songs like "Street Fighting Man", Sympathy For The Devil", both off the "Beggars Banquet" album, and the classic song "Jumpin Jack Flash", which was released as a single. In 1969, the Stones ousted Brian Jones, who was heavily into drugs, and replaced him with the talented Mick Taylor, formally with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Brian died from a drowning incident later that same year. The Stones then recorded one of their number one hits "Honkey Tonk Woman" and as the decade closed they were viewed as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". Due to tax problems in 1972, they left England and moved to France where they created the double album masterpiece "Exile on Main Street" which was recorded in Keith Richard's basement. Mick Taylor left the band in 1974 to pursue a solo career and I admit that having been a huge Brian Jones fan, mostly due to his talent of introducing new instruments into songs like the sitar, marimba, and the dulcimer, they just weren't the same band with Taylor. In 1975, Ronnie Wood joined the Stones as Mick Taylor's replacement. I had been followed Ron Wood from his days with the Jeff Beck Group, The Birds (English band), and Faces, and always thought he would make a perfect "Stone". Needless to say I was delighted when I heard the announcement. With Wood they continued to produce great song after great song like "Start Me Up, and "Waiting On a Friend", along with a long list of others. Bill Wyman left the band in 1992, but the original core of Jagger, Richards, and Watts still remain, along with Ronnie Wood. I have seen the Stones live four times, own every one of their albums and CDs, and am amazed how they continue to perform and record without hardly missing a beat. It's closing in on 50 years since they left the Crawdaddy Club in London and they still continue to perform like they were still in their twenties. To me they will always be "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band Of All Time".
This is just my take....so keep your ears tuned.