50 Fun Facts About Rolling Stones

In which Kent town did Jagger and Richards grow up and reconnect at the station in 1961?

Dartford railway station, 17 October 1961: Jagger was carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, which told Richards they shared an obsession with American blues.

Which multi-instrumentalist founded the band in 1962 and named it off a Muddy Waters LP?

Brian Jones named the band in 1962 while looking at a Muddy Waters LP that included the track 'Rollin' Stone'; he led the group in its early years.

At which London venue did 'the Rollin' Stones' play their first show on 12 July 1962?

The Marquee Club, then on Oxford Street, hosted the first gig billed as 'the Rollin' Stones' on 12 July 1962, filling in for Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated.

Which founding Stones keyboardist was pushed out by Andrew Loog Oldham but stayed as road manager until 1985?

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1989, four years after his death.

Which provocative headline did Andrew Loog Oldham engineer to make the Stones the anti-Beatles?

'Would You Let Your Sister Go with a Rolling Stone?' ran in Melody Maker in March 1964, a line Oldham pushed to cast the band as the scruffy anti-Beatles.

How did Keith Richards come up with the riff for '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'?

He wrote it in his sleep and taped it on a cassette: Richards woke in a Clearwater, Florida hotel in May 1965, recorded the riff, then dozed off, leaving snoring on the tape.

'Paint It Black' (1966) was the first chart-topping single to feature which instrument?

Jones also added marimba to 'Under My Thumb' and recorder to 'Ruby Tuesday'. All five Stones shaped the arrangement.

What word replaced 'the night' when the Stones sang 'Let's Spend the Night Together' on Ed Sullivan in 1967?

Sullivan made them sing 'Let's Spend Some Time Together' on 15 January 1967; Jagger rolled his eyes at the camera each time he reached the word time.

For what was Mick Jagger sentenced to three months in prison after the 1967 Redlands raid?

Possessing four amphetamine tablets, bought legally in Italy, earned Jagger three months in 1967; after The Times asked 'Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?', the Court of Appeal set the jail term aside.

The title of Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) is a play on words found where?

Inside a British passport the text reads 'Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires...', which the 1967 title parodies; the album's lenticular 3D cover was widely mocked.

'Jumpin' Jack Flash' was inspired by the clumping footsteps of whom outside Richards' country house?

His gardener, Jack Dyer, clumping past Redlands in wellington boots woke Jagger and Richards one morning; Richards said 'that's Jack, jumpin' Jack', and the 1968 single returned them to hard rock.

Which Russian novel did Mick Jagger cite as an inspiration for 'Sympathy for the Devil'?

The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov's novel, reached English readers in 1967 and gave Jagger the devil-as-narrator idea; Richards suggested turning the Dylanesque folk draft into a samba.

Which French director filmed the Stones recording 'Sympathy for the Devil' for his film One Plus One?

Jean-Luc Godard shot the Olympic Studios sessions in June 1968 for One Plus One, capturing the 'who who' backing vocals turning into the song's 'woo-woo' chant.

Why was the release of Beggars Banquet (1968) delayed for months?

The label rejected the graffiti-covered toilet cover, so Decca shipped the album in December 1968 in a plain white invitation-card sleeve; the toilet-wall artwork was restored on later reissues.

Which one-off supergroup with Lennon, Clapton and Keith Richards on bass played the 1968 Rock and Roll Circus?

The Dirty Mac played 'Yer Blues' with Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on drums; the Stones shelved the film until 1996, reportedly because The Who had outplayed them.

How did the band's founder die in July 1969, less than a month after leaving?

He drowned in his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm, Sussex, on 3 July 1969, aged 27; the house had belonged to Winnie-the-Pooh author A. A. Milne.

Which guitarist, poached from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, joined in 1969 to fill the founder's spot?

Mick Taylor, who had replaced Peter Green in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, joined in June 1969 and left the Stones in December 1974.

'Honky Tonk Women' was written on holiday in which country, inspired by rural 'caipiras' met there?

Brazil: Jagger and Richards were staying on a ranch at Matão, São Paulo state, in early 1969, and the caipiras there shaped the song; the country version 'Country Honk' is on Let It Bleed.

Which then-unknown cookery writer baked the cake on the cover of Let It Bleed?

Delia Smith, then a young home economist, baked the cake for designer Robert Brownjohn's 1969 cover; it sits on a stack with a pizza, a bicycle tyre and a film canister.

Which American singer shares the vocal with Jagger on 1969's 'Gimme Shelter'?

Merry Clayton was called in late one night in 1969 to trade lines with Jagger on 'Gimme Shelter'; her voice famously cracks during the final 'rape, murder' refrain.

At which December 1969 free concert did Hells Angels fatally stab Meredith Hunter?

Altamont Speedway, 6 December 1969: Hells Angels, reportedly paid in $500 of beer on the Grateful Dead's advice, stabbed Meredith Hunter during the Stones' set; three others died in accidents that day.

The Stones' tongue-and-lips logo was inspired by the stuck-out tongue of which deity?

Kali: Jagger showed designer John Pasche an image of the Hindu goddess with her tongue out, and Pasche's 1970 design for Rolling Stones Records became the band's general logo.

Which pop artist conceived the Sticky Fingers cover, with its working zip that revealed underwear?

Andy Warhol conceived the 1971 Sticky Fingers sleeve, executed by Craig Braun; the working zip dented stacked records in transit until copies were shipped with it pulled halfway down, and the cover earned a Grammy nomination.

'Wild Horses' and 'You Gotta Move' were recorded in December 1969 at which Alabama facility?

Muscle Shoals Sound, the Sheffield, Alabama studio founded by the Swampers rhythm section, hosted three days of sessions from 2 December 1969, squeezed between US tour dates.

Exile on Main St. was largely recorded at a villa in the south of France because the band had become what?

Tax exiles: years of unpaid British tax after Allen Klein's management left the band unable to afford to stay, so in 1971 Richards rented Villa Nellcôte at Villefranche-sur-Mer and its basement became the studio.

According to Keith Richards' memoir, who is the song 'Angie' about?

No one in particular, Richards wrote in his 2010 memoir: 'Angie' was a random name sung before he knew his unborn child would be a girl called Angela; the single topped the US chart in October 1973.

Ronnie Wood joined the Stones in 1975 from which band, alongside Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones?

Faces formed in 1969 when Wood and Rod Stewart, fresh from the Jeff Beck Group, joined the remaining Small Faces; Wood left for the Stones in 1975 and Faces split that December.

Which Some Girls single, with a 'Special Disco Version' 12-inch, reached number one in the US in 1978?

Miss You topped the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1978; its 'Special Disco Version' 12-inch was the band's first dance remix, and Some Girls answered disco and punk alike.

'Start Me Up' began life in 1975 as a reggae track under what title?

Never Stop was the reggae working title; producer Chris Kimsey found two rock takes buried among dozens of reggae versions, and one of them became the 1981 single.

Tattoo You (1981) is mostly made up of what?

Studio outtakes from the 1970s make up most of the album: with Jagger and Richards barely speaking, associate producer Chris Kimsey raided the vaults for unfinished tracks dating back to 1972 and the band added new vocals.

Which former Stone, born William Perks, played bass from 1962 until January 1993?

Bill Wyman, born William Perks in 1936, played bass from December 1962 until his departure was announced in January 1993, then led Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.

Which former Miles Davis and Sting bassist did Charlie Watts pick for the Voodoo Lounge sessions?

Darryl Jones, chosen by Watts in late 1993, debuted on Voodoo Lounge in 1994 and anchored the band's tours for the next three decades as a hired sideman rather than an official member.

Charlie Watts originally trained in which profession before turning to music?

Graphic design: Watts studied at Harrow Art School and worked for the advertising agency Charles, Hobson and Grey before joining the Stones in January 1963; he later led the Charlie Watts Quintet and Tentet.

Who took over on drums after Charlie Watts's death in August 2021?

Steve Jordan, Richards' X-Pensive Winos drummer, had been announced as stand-in for the 2021 No Filter tour when Watts stepped aside for treatment; Watts died aged 80 on 24 August 2021 and Jordan stayed on.

Which 2023 album was the Stones' first of new original material in 18 years?

Hackney Diamonds, released in October 2023, followed A Bigger Bang (2005) as the band's next album of new songs; Blue & Lonesome (2016) in between was all blues covers.

Who plays bass on 'Bite My Head Off' from the Stones' 2023 album?

Paul McCartney plays fuzz bass on 'Bite My Head Off' after recommending producer Andrew Watt to Ronnie Wood; Elton John, Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder also guest on the 2023 album.

Which university did Mick Jagger attend before dropping out for the band?

The London School of Economics admitted Jagger in 1961 on a grant; he left in 1963 to concentrate on the band and was knighted for services to popular music in 2003.

How many children does Mick Jagger have?

Eight: Karis, Jade, Elizabeth, James, Georgia May, Gabriel, Lucas and Deveraux, born between 1970 and 2016 to five different mothers.

Keith Richards played Captain Teague, father of which film character whose look was based on Richards?

Jack Sparrow's slurring swagger was modelled by Johnny Depp on Richards, who then played Sparrow's father Captain Teague in At World's End (2007) and On Stranger Tides (2011).

In 2006 Keith Richards suffered a head injury after falling from what in Fiji?

A dead tree, not the coconut palm the press reported, threw Richards to the ground in Fiji in April 2006; surgeons in New Zealand treated a subdural haematoma and the tour resumed in July.

What is the title of Keith Richards' 2010 autobiography?

Life, written with journalist James Fox and published in October 2010, opens with the band's 1975 drug arrest in Fordyce, Arkansas.

Which Stones song was dropped from the setlist of their 2021 US tour amid debate over its lyrics?

Brown Sugar, the 1971 single whose lyrics touch on slavery and sexual violence, was left off the 2021 No Filter US setlists; Jagger said the band would drop it for now and see how it went.

Who inducted the Rolling Stones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989?

Pete Townshend did the honours at the 1989 ceremony, telling the band 'whatever you do, don't try to grow old gracefully. It wouldn't suit you'.

Which 1970 live album was recorded at Madison Square Garden in November 1969?

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! captured the 27 and 28 November 1969 Madison Square Garden shows and took its title from a Blind Boy Fuller song; it topped the UK chart in September 1970.

Which band's 1997 hit 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' had its royalties signed over to Jagger and Richards?

The Verve built 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' on an orchestral sample of a 1965 Stones single; Allen Klein's ABKCO took the royalties for Jagger and Richards, who handed the rights back to Richard Ashcroft in 2019.

Which Chuck Berry cover was the Rolling Stones' first single, released on 7 June 1963?

Come On, a Chuck Berry song from 1961, was cut at Olympic Studios in May 1963 and reached number 21 in the UK; the band disliked it and refused to play it live.

The Stones' second single was a song written by which pair, reaching No. 12 in the UK?

Lennon and McCartney finished 'I Wanna Be Your Man' in front of the Stones at a rehearsal in 1963; the single peaked at number 12, and the Beatles' own version, sung by Ringo, appeared on With the Beatles.

Which 1966 album was the first LP made up entirely of Jagger/Richards compositions?

Aftermath, released in April 1966, was the first album written entirely by Jagger and Richards; it reached number one in the UK and number two in the US, and includes the eleven-minute 'Goin' Home'.

Which 1989 album and tour marked the Stones' return after a seven-year touring break?

Steel Wheels, released in August 1989, ended a public feud between Jagger and Richards; its North American tour that autumn was the band's first anywhere since 1982.

Seven fossil stoneflies named after band members in 2018 were preserved in amber from which country?

Myanmar's Burmese amber, about 99 million years old, yielded Petroperla mickjaggeri, Lapisperla keithrichardsi and five more stoneflies in a new family, the Petroperlidae, described in 2018 for Jagger's 75th birthday.