The seeds of The Rolling Stones were planted 60 years ago this Thursday, on April 7th, 1962, when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met Brian Jones for the first time at the Ealing Jazz Club in London.
Jones was performing in a duo called Elmo and Paul with future Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones. Brian was a member of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, which included piano player Ian Stewart and drummer Charlie Watts, and this led to Jagger and Richards playing with the band.
On May 2nd, 1962, Brian advertised for bandmates in Jazz Weekly and Stewart was the first to respond. In June, Jagger and Richards left Blues Incorporated and, along with their friend, bassist Dick Taylor, joined Jones and Stewart.
Bill Wyman auditioned for bass on December 7th, 1962 and was hired as a successor to Taylor, who left to go to school and eventually formed the Pretty Things, for whom he played drums. Charlie Watts soon joined on drums and the classic Stones lineup played for the first time in public on Saturday, January 12th, 1963 at the Ealing Club.
The Stones will celebrate their 60th anniversary later this spring and summer with a European tour. Dubbed Sixty, it starts June 1st in Madrid, Spain.
