Rolling Stones

  • Real Name: Michael Philip Jagger
  • Birth Date: 26th July 1943
  • Birth Place: Dartford Kent
  • Keith Richards
  • 18th December 1943
  • Dartford Kent
  • Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones
  • 26th February 1942
  • Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
  • Bill Perks (Wyman)
  • 24th October 1936
  • Plumstead, London
  • Charles Robert Watts
  • 2nd June 1941
  • Islington, London
  • Apart from the Beatles, The Rollin' Stones, as they were originally called, are the most famous rock and roll band of all time. They have had a number of different line-ups but that generally accepted as the 'classic' is shown above. The group first came together around Brian Jones during 1962 and at one point included future 'Kink', Mick Avory on drums and a variety of other musicians before finally taking on board bass player, Wyman and drummer, Watts. The latter had previously played consistently for Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and probably saw some risk in joining this new venture. Before they became managed by Andrew Loog Oldham they also had a pianist called Ian Stewart who was relegated to roadie by Oldham which left the band as a five-piece.
    DFE8590
    The EP sleeve shown on the left was the 'Stones second and it was entitled 'Five By Five'. It indeed shows the five members of the group in typical pose at a time when they had enjoyed about the first year of their stardom. None of the five songs the record contains were issued as singles- which made the disc a popular choice by fans who wanted to hear more from the band without the expense of buying an album.

    The Stones were widely regarded as a good deal more raucous and unkempt than their arch rivals from Merseyside. In fact, Oldham promoted them in the knowledge that the more degenerate and rebellious they appeared then the greater would be their appeal. The members of the band saw themselves as a straightforward R&B outfit, and borrowed extensively from black American performers. Their first single was 'Come On' from Chuck Berry, although they used Lennon And McCartney's 'I Wanna Be Your Man' for their follow up. Both records were healthy hits, but it was their third release which indicated where things were going. 'Not Fade Away' was a song written by Buddy Holly in the style of Bo Diddley. The Crickets had recorded it as the flip to 'Oh Boy!' six years earlier, but the original lacked the power and aggression of the Stones' remake. The next five of their releases all occupied the UK #1 spot and the group attained international stardom by the time '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' appeared..

    Although they had success with their own songs, notably 'The Last Time', they did not attain the status of Lennon And McCartney because their real strength lay in re-interpreting the work of others. Apart from their amazing musical success the group also courted less favourable publicity because of their association with drugs, narrowly avoiding imprisonment. Brian Jones appears to have fallen the deepest into drug abuse and following emotional problems in 1969 he resigned from the group and was replaced by Mick Taylor . Sadly, Jones was found dead in the swimming pool of his home a month later.

    Their production rate of singles slowed down as the 1960s drew to a close though their controversial image took longer to fade. They lost none of their appeal during the 1970s though perhaps they began to appeal to a broader audience. Whatever else is true about this legendary band it is certain that they did much to bring the R&B music they loved to a worldwide audience who were largely unaware of its black American roots.

    1950s & 1960s 45rpm UK Discography

    • Upper list includes UK 45 singles only
    • See lower list for EP releases
    • Collector's Items are shown In Red

    Decca F11675 1963 Come On/ I Want To Be Loved #21
    Decca F11764 1963 I Wanna Be Your Man/ Stoned #12
    Decca F11845 1964 Not Fade Away/ Little By Little #3
    Decca F11934 1964 It's All Over Now/ Good Times Bad Times #1
    Decca F12014 1964 Little Red Rooster/ Off The Hook #1
    Decca F12104 1965 The Last Time/ Play With Fire #1
    Decca F12220 1965 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction #1
    Decca F12263 1965 Get Off My Cloud/ the Singer Not The Song #1
    Decca F12331 1966 19th Nervous Breakdown/ As Tears Go By #2
    Decca F12395 1966 Paint It Black/ Long Long While #1
    Decca F12497 1966 Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow/ Who's Driving Your Plane #5
    Decca F12546 1967 Let's Spend The Night Together/ Ruby Tuesday #3
    Decca F12654 1967 We Love You/ Dandelion #8
    Decca F12782 1968 Jumping Jack Flash/ Child Of The Moon #1
    Decca F12952 1969 Honky Tonk Women/ You Can't Always Get What you Want #1

    EP Discography

    • Stereophonic Versions have Cat. No. in parentheses
    • Collector's Items are shown In Red
    • See Upper List For Singles releases

    Decca DFE8560 1964 "The Rolling Stones" #1
    You Better Move On/Poison Ivy/Bye Bye Johnny/Money
    Decca DFE8590 1964 "Five By Five" #1
    If Ever You Need Me/Empty Heart/2120 South Michigan Avenue/Confessin' The Blues/Around And Around
    Decca DFE8620 1965 "Got Live If You Want It" #1
    We Want The Stones/Everybody Needs Somebody/Pain In My Heart/Route 66/I'm Moving On/I'm Alright (sic)


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