50 Fun Facts About Rolling Stones

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

Jagger was carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, which told Richards they had a shared obsession.

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

One of the tracks on the record was 'Rollin' Stone'. Jones was the band's undisputed leader in its early years.

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

They have played more than two thousand concerts since. The Cavern is in Liverpool.

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?

He also wrote sleeve notes urging fans to mug a blind beggar to raise money for the album.

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

Jagger wrote the lyrics by a pool in Clearwater, Florida four days before the session. A Maestro fuzzbox gave the riff its snarl.

'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?

Jagger rolled his eyes at the camera every time he sang it.

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

Richards got a year for allowing cannabis to be smoked at his house. Both sentences were overturned on appeal after The Times asked who breaks a butterfly on a wheel.

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

'Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires...'. The lenticular 3D cover was widely mocked as a Sgt. Pepper knock-off.

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

Jagger and Richards had been woken by him one morning. The single marked the band's return to hard blues-rock after psychedelia.

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

Bulgakov's book had just come out in English in 1967. Richards suggested turning Jagger's Dylanesque folk song into a samba.

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

The film captured the 'who who' backing vocals turning into 'woo-woo' on the first take.

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

It came out with a plain white invitation-card sleeve instead. The original cover was restored on later reissues.

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

Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience drummed. The Stones shelved the whole film until 1996, reportedly because The Who outplayed them.

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

He was 27. His home, Cotchford Farm in Sussex, 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?

He first played with Mayall at 17 when Clapton failed to show. He left the Stones at the end of 1974.

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

Jagger and Richards were on a ranch in Matão, São Paulo. A country version, 'Country Honk', appears on Let It Bleed.

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

The cake sits on a stack including a pizza, a bicycle tyre and a film canister on a record spindle.

Which American singer's guest vocal on 'Gimme Shelter' was the Stones' most prominent female contribution for 54 years?

Lady Gaga finally matched it on 'Sweet Sounds of Heaven' in 2023, which producer Andrew Watt said almost embodied Clayton.

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

The Angels were reportedly hired for $500 worth of beer on the advice of the Grateful Dead. Three others died accidentally that day.

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

It was created for the band's own label, Rolling Stones Records, in 1970 and became the band's general logo.

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

The zip damaged the records in shipping, so it was later moved. It earned a Grammy nomination anyway.

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

They cut three songs there in three days between tour dates, days before Altamont.

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

Financial mismanagement by Allen Klein left them owing years of back tax. Richards rented the villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer.

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

He says he picked the name at random before he knew his baby would be a girl called Angela. It topped the US chart in 1973.

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

He and Stewart had left the Jeff Beck Group together in 1969 to form it with the ex-Small Faces.

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

It was the band's first dance remix. The album was Jagger's answer to disco and punk.

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

Producer Chris Kimsey found two rock takes buried among about fifty reggae versions and rescued it for Tattoo You.

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

Jagger and Richards were barely speaking, so associate producer Chris Kimsey raided the vaults and added new vocals.

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

He went on to lead Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and returned to record on Hackney Diamonds thirty years later.

Which former Miles Davis and Sting bassist did Charlie Watts recruit as Wyman's replacement in 1994?

He debuted on Voodoo Lounge in 1994 and has toured with the band ever since without becoming an official member.

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

He kept a jazz career on the side, leading the Charlie Watts Quintet and Tentet at Ronnie Scott's.

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

Watts died at 80. Jordan had already filled in on the No Filter tour when Watts stepped aside for treatment.

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

It became their fourteenth UK number one. Blue & Lonesome (2016) was all blues covers.

Which former Beatle suggested producer Andrew Watt to Ronnie Wood, then played bass on the 2023 album?

Elton John, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Bill Wyman also guest on the album.

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

He was studying accounting and finance. He was knighted for services to popular music in 2003.

How many children does Mick Jagger have?

With five different women. He was married to Bianca from 1971 to 1978.

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

Johnny Depp modelled Sparrow on Richards, then cast him in two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels.

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

The press wrongly reported it as a coconut tree. He had brain surgery and was back on tour within weeks.

What is the title of Keith Richards' 2010 autobiography?

Stone Alone is Bill Wyman's book. Life reveals, among other things, that 'Angie' is about no one.

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

Marsha Hunt says Jagger wrote it with her in mind; former Ikette Claudia Lennear says it was about her.

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

He reportedly told them 'whatever you do, don't try to grow old gracefully'. Ian Stewart was inducted posthumously with them.

Roughly how many albums have the Rolling Stones sold?

They have four Grammys plus a Lifetime Achievement award, and were the highest-earning live act of 2021.

How often, by 2007, had the Stones broken the record for the highest-grossing concert tour of all time?

Voodoo Lounge, Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang each held it in turn.

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

The band refused to play it live and Decca bought only one ad; Oldham had fan-club members buy copies to push it up the charts.

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

'I Wanna Be Your Man' also appeared on the writers' own album With the Beatles in 1963.

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

It reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US and is often regarded as their most important early album.

On whose suggestion did the Stones build a control room into a van, creating their Mobile Studio in 1968?

The idea freed them from studios' 9-to-5 hours; the van was later lent to other bands.

In 2018, scientists celebrated Jagger's 75th birthday by naming seven fossil species of what after band members?

Petroperla mickjaggeri and Lapisperla keithrichardsi were placed in a brand-new family, the Petroperlidae.