Known as the bad boys of the British Invasion, the Rolling Stones formed in 1963 and became popular with a string of singles in the mid-60s. Throughout the next two decades, they were seen as a seedier, darker alternative to the bright pop of The Beatles. With Mick Jagger’s campy lead vocals and Keith Richard’s hard-driving guitar, they pioneered the dirty blues-rock that eventually came to define hard rock. As the band’s popularity grew, they started to experiment musically, touching on British pop and psychedelia before emerging from the ‘60s with a couple of terrific albums, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, and the unofficial title of the world’s second biggest band (their twelve Top 10 hits in the ‘60s don’t compare to The Beatles’ 29).
The ‘70s brought a new level of success as the group focused more on writing great albums and less on writing singles. Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main St. and Some Girls are three of the best albums of the decade and cemented the band in the minds (and music collections) of rock fans around the world. As the group moved into the ‘80s, they recorded Tattoo You, which is probably the band’s last great album. With a series of albums over the last two and a half decades – some better than others – the Rolling Stones have certainly proved that they are the most productive band of their era, if not the greatest, and are still one of the biggest live acts going today.
ALSO! Don’t miss our Rolling Stones Deep Cuts and our list of essential Rolling Stones songs
Rolling Stone Quotes
“It is all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.” – Mick Jagger
“Keith Richards is the original punk rocker. You can’t really out-punk Keith — it’s a useless gesture.” – Mick Jagger
“It does get boring people asking me, ‘Is this the last Stones tour?’ They been asking that since 1964.” – Mick Jagger
“Basically the thing at the time you used to just try and find girls that would fuck. The rest of it was just…yer know. I mean, it wasn’t quite as easy then as it is now. Since the invention of the pill, its become much easier.” – Mick Jagger
“Sometimes an orgasm is better than being onstage. Sometimes being onstage is better than an orgasm.” – Mick Jagger
“I never had a problem with drugs, only with cops.” – Keith Richards