Stones – Part 5

Like most Americans, I grew up listening to the Rolling Stones’ music on the radio but it wasn’t until the ‘00s that I really began exploring their vast catalogue- and there’s a lot to discover! Founded in London in 1962, the Stones started out as a scrappy, Chuck Berry-worshipping cover band who just couldn’t get enough American blues and soul music. Not only did the Stones get major props from their American heroes (the tasty a cappella breakdown on “Tumbling Dice” is enough to make any blues artist jealous) but the Rolling Stones in my opinion are the funkiest rock group of all time. Period.

The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts

Many have credited the Stones’ founder and leader, Brian Jones, with instilling in the band a fierce dedication to mastering, spreading, and teaching the blues; yet Jones’ influence began to wane at the height of the British Invasion when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards emerged as wunderkind songwriters and began delivering hit after hit for the group (Jones died alone in his swimming pool in 1969).

It was Mick and Keith who introduced folk, Baroque, and psychedelic elements into the Stones’ ‘60s recordings and comparisons to the Beatles were inevitable (the two groups were friends). While the Stones are often parodied as sleazy, decadent dinosaurs who just don’t know when to quit, their music continues to endure because it is built upon a solid blues foundation which touches and excites listeners’ souls- and time just can’t kill that. Here are some more of my favorite Stones songs. Enjoy!

01. The Rolling Stones – “Respectable” (1978)

02. The Rolling Stones – “Thru and Thru” (1994)

03. The Rolling Stones – “Blinded by Rainbows” (1994)

04. The Rolling Stones – “Congratulations” (1964)

05. The Rolling Stones – “Hoo Doo Blues” (2016)

06. The Rolling Stones – “Hate to See You Go” (2016)

07. The Rolling Stones – “Empty Heart” (1964)

08. The Rolling Stones – “Happy” (1972)

09. The Rolling Stones – “I’m a King Bee” (1964)

10. The Rolling Stones – “Rip This Joint” (1972)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones – “Baby, Please Don’t Go (Live)”