Rolling Stones

To a college student, or even to a professor, putting a time frame for the Rolling Stones is a task which requires envisioning a world before every memory one has ever made. “Timeless” would be an appropriate adjective, but “the 1950s” serves just as well. The band did not start as its line-up consists of today. Hardly, if any, bands have ever started like that. The Rolling Stones started as a small teen band named, “Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys”, with Mick Jagger singing and Keith Richards playing guitar. The music they played was all covers; they played songs which came from the musicians which they enjoyed. At this time, there were not any new movements arising which were primarily British. In this post-World War II era, the biggest new genres emerging were jazz, country/western, and R&B (rhythm and bass). With these being primarily American genres, many adults in Britain did not want their children listening to this unfamiliar new music. However, the Rolling Stones were always a group attracted to the idea of rebellion. Such influential figures were Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters, and St.-Louis native Chuck Berry.

One thing the Rolling Stones were always known for, their stage act, started in 1962. As “Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys” became “The Rollin’ Stones”, Mick Jagger, the front man of the group, slowly gained confidence. Stephen Davis in his 40-year span of the Rolling Stones entitled, “Old gods almost dead. The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones”, describes Mick’s act as: “tossing his hair, rolling his eyes, dipping his shoulders, suggestive hand gestures, tight little spins, acting out the risqué lyrics with is eyes and especially his lips” (Davis 24). Eventually the shows in packed 400-person clubs would end ...

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...off for years. First Jagger disproved of Richards’ drug use in the 70s. Then in the 80s Richards disproved of Jagger’s leadership. Ever since the early 90s it has been strictly business-work between the two, until finally 2004, when they worked on their latest album, A Bigger Bang. Richards explains, “We were tight together, good some good stuff working. There was less of the moodiness…I mean, if you work with a guy for forty-odd years, it’s not all going to be plain sailing, is it? You’ve got to go through the [tough times]; it’s like a marriage” (Richards 536). The two have shared a similar love of music since the age of 8, and now, both in their late 60s, the two return to this love of music to move past the wounds formed 3 decades ago. This power of music, above all else, proves that what this band stands for spans more than just 4 decades- it is timeless.