The Stones At 50

I gotta admit it. I never thought they would last this long. Not their music, certainly, which is the spine of rock and roll, but, rather their bodies. The abuse that they have inflicted on their central nervous systems would have killed many a community. They are survivors, however. The best example of the outlaw spirit of the music that flows through their systems. Unclean, unruly, unhinged---- they are also unchallenged in the arena of music. They are The Rolling Stones and they are a half-century old... The Bad Boys Of Rock. You know them. They seem indestructible. Well, maybe they are. Even a quick viewing by an outsider leaves a person staggered. How indeed have they managed to live so long and so raw and with such a vengeance, and, still keep walking among us? There are many jokes about their age and looks. Pretty, they never were. There have been many glamour boys in music, but, the Stones always defied this label. They had swagger and a menacing sneer. If you look at the definition of what rock and roll should be--- music your parents hated and society railed against because of its sexual innuendo--- then they are the poster boys of Bad..... Mick Jagger never had a great voice. Artists from Sinatra to Sting could sing him off any stage without effort. But, Mick never pretended to sing well. He is all showman, with his bizarre version of dancing and prancing for his audience. Part of his act is just that: it is an act. There is a smile on his face along with a wink towards the audience. He seems to be saying, '' Look, both you and I know that more talented people should be up here singing for you, but, I won the lottery in luck, so, here I am!!''. And, that is the heart of who he is. A charming con man who belts out the music. A tremendous salesman. Now, to just dismiss him with just that description would be a disservice to him. He is so much more. He is the last of the great stage performers from the mid- 20th Century. Frank is gone, along with Elvis, James Brown, Hendrix, and, Morrison. Jagger is the sole carrier of the bad-ass banner. Yeah, you may laugh at his moves, but, just try to take your eyes off of him. With his average voice [ not much range, but, a perfect blend with the music engulfing him ] he may be rock's finest hustler...... His fellow ''Glimmer Twin'', Keith Richards, just keeps getting stronger. The man of a thousand riffs. A damn fine, if anything, underrated musician, who could play with any band in the world, be it jazz to classical. He is also the best example in human history of a walking corpse. I read his autobiography a few years back, and, GOOD GOD, MAN!!! It is astonishing that he can do anything. A longtime heroin junkie and abuser of every drug in Schedule A, Keith just continues to defy genetics. Keith has kissed The Dark Side so many times that whenever we hear about his lastest escapade, we shake our heads in a certain wonder of how he has survived to now. I think Death fears him.... And, now the music. The hallmark of The Rolling Stones. They burst onto the scene in America in 1964, along with other bands in the British Invasion. At first, they had a tough going. They were advertised as the ''Anti-Beatles''. If the Fab Four were cute and beloved, the Stones were the rough boys that you warned your daughter to stay away from. They played up the image with a vengeance. Misbehavior went into their public lives, but, also, most crucially, seeped into the music. They started out idolizing American blues music [ the band name comes from a Muddy Waters song ]. The first albums and singles showed that influence. Every artist starts out a career like this. You take what you have always loved and inspired you, blend it with your life experiences, and, then you create your own work and sound from the results. It wasn't until 1965 when the Stones came into the sound from which we love them for. ['' I Can't Get No] Satisfaction'' blasted away on the radio and the public's consciousness. The song's creation came when Keith Richards woke up one night with the riff in his mind. Now, Keith sleeping is hard to comprehend, but, he grabbed his guitar by his bed and committed the riff on a tape recorder he had by his bed. Then, he went back to sleep. When he awoke the next day, he said he heard a few minutes of his riff playing on the tape followed by 45 minutes of snoring. Taking the song into the studio, he and Mick added words, and, the other boys in the band, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and, the doomed Brian Jones, pounded out what has been called rock's anthem and the greatest rock song ever. I will leave that up to you to decide if you think so, but, what can't be denied is that the song perfectly expressed what rock and roll should be. Defiant. Sexual. Outlaw behavior. It became their signature song and took them to where they are today.... More great singles followed in ''Satisfactions's'' wake: ''Lets Spend The Night Together'', '' 19 Nervous Breakdown'', '' Mother's Little Helper'', ''Under My Thumb'', and, the brilliant ''Paint It Black''. Strangely, though, these strong singles were hand in hand with weak albums. The albums seemed to be mostly filler music-- occasionally, a good song or two would be on one of these albums, like ''Dandolion'' and ''The Last Time''--- but, the Stones were still tuning up to make their first great body of work. That finally came in 1968 with ''Beggars Banquet''. The songs on this disc became classics. ''Sympathy For The Devil'', ''Street Fighting Man'', and the wonderful bar sing-along-song, ''Salt Of The Earth.''. The consensus from both the public and the music industry was with this recording the Stones were going long distance.... The following year, 1969, the Stones lost Brian Jones, who actually was the founder and leader of the group in the early days, to a mysterious death in his swimming pool.  Rumors have remained strong all of these years that Jones was murdered when he was found drowned. The Stones had fired him months earlier because of his drug addiction and erratic behavior. His place in the band was taken by Mick Taylor, and, it was with Taylor that the band reached its greatest creative heights. Starting with ''Let It Bleed'' [ which has my favorite Stones song, ''Gimme Shelter''] to ''Sticky Fingers'' to ''Exile On Main Street'', the Stones forever cemented a place in history. The songs during this era: ''Brown Sugar'', ''You Can't Always Get What You Want'', ''Wild Horses'', ''Honkytonk Woman'', rival any creative period from any artist in any time..... The dawn of the 70's started dark for the Stones. In December 1969, they played the famous Altamont concert, where one person was stabbed to death right in front of the boys as they were playing. The controversary dogged the band for years, but, it was unfair. No performer from the stage can control what is going on in any show, neither can the security. However, in time, the uproar subsided and they gained a fresh steam in their strides. The stage shows grew in complexity and originality. Mostly, they brought sex on stage with them. Many shows, Mick rode a giant penis on stage. They also fell in love with women's makeup. It was the glitter period for rock, and the Stones adopted the influence of the bizarre. Free love, which they practiced with such gusto in the Swinging Sixties, became all-obsessive for the boys. Mick went from Bianca to Jerry Hall, with stops along the way to dally with Linda Ronstadt and Carly Simon [ which was ideal, since they both look alike]. Keith continued his reckless dance with the Devil, using and abusing every drug to get him through life. But, by the mid-70's, their all important music seemed to take a dip in quality. Mick Taylor had enough of the craziness and left, to be replaced by Ronnie Wood. Charlie and Bill, the most normal of the Stones, became second-class citizens in the band. The friendship of Mick and Keith, which stretched back to childhood, began to unwind in arguments and musical disagreements. Every once in a while, an album would emerge, but, it was hardly vintage Rolling Stones. Many wondered if the band was done..... But, never count them out. They are survivors , remember, and, survivors find a way out of the abyss. In 1978, came the album, ''Some Girls'', which begat the hits, ''Miss You'', and ''Shattered''. While neither the album nor the singles could compare to their best work, it did seem to rejuvenate the band and give them the jumpstart they needed. Sales leaped, as did their popularity. They were now the elder statesmen of rock and roll. Most inportantly, Keith overcame an almost decade long addiction of heroin-- but, first, in typical Keith fashion, the cops busted him for possession of the drug. He was off smack, but, our Keith still drank like a fish and snorted the substances of life. Mick ''settled down'' with Jerry Hall. However, a stable relationship never interfered with Mick's bachelor fun. He was still a dandy with the ladies and haunted Studio 54 looking for some action. As they approached middle age, they were tamed a little, but, the fire of rebellion still burned in them.... The 80's started strong with them with the albums, ''Emotional Rescue'', and ''Tattoo You'' [ featuring another anthem for them, ''Start Me Up'']. The world tours became even bigger and wilder. They were now anointed legends in the rock world. They also still burned the midnight oil with a frequency which left many younger followers dead in the street. The only thing that brought them down was internal discord, primary between Mick and Keith. It got to a point that these two would not speak to each other unless necessary. It was inevitable that they would split, and, they did in 1986, after the release of ''Dirty Work'', perhaps their worst work as a unit. Mick and Keith traded insults in the press, as all good partners do. What brought them all back together was their 1989 induction into ''The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame''. The wounds healed and they started working on a new record, ''Steel Wheels'' and the follow-up tour. Both the tour and album were rousing successes and the Stones stormed through the 90's as a great example of a golden oldies act. The concerts now were where they played to their fans memories and good times. This happens to every artist if they are fortunate enough to last. No longer do they take the creative risks. They play it safe and easy. In a way the Stones, of all artists, sold out by playing to their audiences expectations of them. This can be forgiven, though. Like McCartney, Elton, Springsteen, and The Eagles, they have earned the right to play whatever they damn well want to.... So, now, they are fifty. It is still astounding to me that they are still going strong. I have never seen them in concert. I would like to and I am sure I will try to get tickets if they tour next year. A friend of mine, Pete, shelled out some big money to go see them in Jersey this month. If I ever do see them live, I will, of course, love the music they play. I will also go to see them moving and breathing..... Congratulations, men!!! You certainly have earned your stripes!!!!!