The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London, England, in 1962.
The first stable line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar), Mick Jagger (lead vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). Since then, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes with Jagger and Richards being the only members to appear on every album.
Here are ten fun facts about The Rolling Stones:
1. The Rolling Stones were originally called “The Rollin’ Stones”. They changed their name after discovering that there was already a blues band with the same name.
2. The band’s first gig was at the Marquee Club in London on July 12th, 1962. They were paid £5 for their performance.
3. In 1963, the Rolling Stones released their debut single “Come On” which reached number 21 on the UK charts. Their second single “I Wanna Be Your Man” was written by Lennon-McCartney (The Beatles) and reached number 12 in the UK charts.
4. The Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time on February 9th, 1964 where they performed “Not Fade Away” and “I Just Want To Make Love To You” much to Ed Sullivan’s dismay as he thought they were too suggestive for his family audience! Nevertheless, they proved to be extremely popular with viewers and went on to perform a total of seven times on the show over the next two years.
5. On June 2nd, 1969, guitarist Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool at his home in Sussex, England at age 27 leaving behind a wife and girlfriend who were both pregnant with his child/children. His death was ruled as accidental but many theories abound as to what really happened that fateful night including murder!
6. After Jones’ death, Mick Taylor took over lead guitar duties until 1974 when he quit abruptly during rehearsals for their North American tour citing creative differences between himself and Keith Richards as well as homesickness since he missed his young family back home in England. He was replaced by Ronnie Wood who remains with the band to this day along with original members Jagger and Richards.
7. Drummer Charlie Watts is not only part of one of greatest rock bands ever but also an accomplished jazz musician having played with such greats as Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster Oscar Peterson among others. He even had his own jazz group called “The Charlie Watts Quintet” which recorded several albums.
8. In 1989, The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
9. The Rolling Stones have sold over 250 million records worldwide.
10. The band’s first album, “The Rolling Stones”, was released in 1964.
