Rolling Stones, The, British rock-music group that rivaled the popularity of the group's early contemporaries, The Beatles. The Rolling Stones were formed in 1962 by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, William Wyman, who left the band in late 1992, and Charles Robert Watts. Mick Taylor replaced Jones until 1975, when Ron Wood took his place. The Rolling Stones' rough, raucous sound, influenced by American rhythm-and-blues music, and the group's irreverent performances contrasted with the softer style of The Beatles and won The Rolling Stones a large following in both England and the United States. Such singles as "Time Is on My Side" (1964), "Mother's Little Helper" (1966), "Heart of Stone" (1965), "Ruby Tuesday" (1967), "Satisfaction" (1965), and "Little Red Rooster" (1964), which was deemed too sexually explicit for release in the United States, are typical of The Rolling Stones' uninhibited style. The group's performance style was captured in the motion picture Gimme Shelter (1970). Intended to document the group's popularity, the movie inadvertently recorded the killing of a spectator by members of the motorcycle gang Hell's Angels, who had been hired to provide security at a free Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Racetrack in California. The Rolling Stones' many albums include Out of Their Heads (1965), Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Gimme Shelter (1970), Exile on Main Street (1972), Some Girls (1978), and Undercover (1983). The Rolling Stones continued to perform and record throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, winning a Grammy Award in 1995 for their album Voodoo Lounge (1994). Individual band members also recorded solo albums from the 1960s through the 1990s. |