The Rolling Stones on the Cover of Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stones first appeared on the cover of RS for the August 10, 1968 issue, around the time of the release of Beggars Banquet. The album was a return to form after the more experimental Their Satanic Majesties Request. As RS Editor and Publisher Jann S. Wenner wrote in the cover story, "[Beggars Banquet] is the best record they have yet done. In all aspects it is a great album; great Rolling Stones material and performance; a great rock & roll album, without pretense, an achievement of significance in both lyrics and music." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Mick Jagger’s First RS Interview
In the October 12, 1968 issue of RS, Mick Jagger gave one of his most extensive interviews to date, opening up about the influence of the blues on the Stones and Bob Dylan's response to their music. "Dylan once [told Keith Richards], 'I could have written 'Satisfaction' but you couldn't have written 'Tambourine Man.' That was just funny. It was great. That's what he's like. It's true but I'd like to hear Bob Dylan sing '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.'" Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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Remembering Brian Jones
RS paid tribute to Brian Jones, who was found dead in his swimming pool at age 27, in the July 12, 1969 issue. "Jones was perhaps more of a Rolling Stone than any of the others," Greil Marcus wrote of the band's hard-living rhythm guitarist. "What the Stones as a group sang about, what Jagger and Richards wrote about, Jones did, and he did it right out in public." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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A Preview of Altamont
In the December 27, 1969 issue, Rolling Stone covered the Stones' announcement of a free concert in California, which would go on to become the band's disastrous Altamont show. Go to All Access to read the full story.
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The Aftermath of Altamont
Rolling Stone was on the frontlines of the Stones' December 1969 Altamont tragedy, where four people died and the Hells Angels, who were providing security, acted violently with the crowd. Go to All Access to read the full report.
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Stones on the Silver Screen
n the September 3, 1970 issue, RS previewed Gimme Shelter, the 1970 Maysles Brothers-directed doc that focused on Altamont. "We don't want to exploit," said David Maysles. "We want people to see what we think is a strong, strong film." Go to All Access to read the full report.
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Keith Richards: the RS Interview
In the August 19, 1971 issue of RS, Keith Richards opened up about his early exposure to music: "Rock & roll got me into being one of the boys. Before that I just got me ass kicked all over the place. Learned how to ride a punch." Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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Stones on the Road
Writer Robert Greenfield and photographer Annie Leibovitz hit the road with the Stones for their eight-week, 1972 American tour. Go to All Access to read the full report.
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The Stones in Paradise
Annie Leibovitz photographed Mick Jagger for the March 1, 1973 cover, one of the first to feature color photography. The accompanying story, written by Ben Fong-Torres, chronicled the Stones on a tour stop in Hawaii. Go to All Access to read the full report.
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The Glimmer Twins
In the July 17, 1975 issue, Rolling Stone went on the road and backstage with the Stones on their American tour. Go to All Access to read the full report.
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Rocks Off
For the September 11, 1975 issue, Rolling Stone caught up with the band on a tour stop in Los Angeles. Go to All Access to read the full report.
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Ron Wood Lives It Up
In the November 3, 1977 issue, Rolling Stone's Dave Marsh sat down with Stones guitarist Ron Wood, who joined the group two years earlier. Wood opened up about what it was like to be the band's newest member: "I've gotta make sure I do contribute. After all, I'd hate to become the dormant member of the Rolling Stones." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Jagger on Richards
For the June 29, 1978 issue, Mick Jagger gave his second Rolling Stone interview, where he spoke candidly about his relationship with Keith Richards: "[He] was born my brother by different parents. We're very close…I met him when I was six." Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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Shattered
RS went back on the road with Stones for our September 7, 1978 cover story, where Mick Jagger opened up about the pressures of fame. "With all this attention, you become a child," he said. "It's awful to be at the center of attention. You can't talk about anything apart from your own experience, your own dopey life. I'd rather do something that can get me out of the center of attention. It's very dangerous. But there's no way, really, to avoid that." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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The Stones Grow Up
With the release of their more disco-oriented 1980 album Emotional Rescue, the Stones seemed dismayed with the state of rock & roll. "I'm 'fraid rock & roll has no future," Mick Jagger said. "There is no future in rock & roll. It's only recycled past." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Richards: No Regrets
Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder interviewed Keith Richards in Massachusetts as the Stones were rehearsing for their 1981 Tattoo You tour, one of the most testing of their nineteen-year career. Richards spoke frankly about trying to kick his addiction to drugs: "The problem is not how to get off them, it's how to stay off them. Yep, that's the one." Go to All Access to read the complete interview.
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Jagger in Conversation
For the November 24, 1983 issue of RS, Kurt Loder visited Mick Jagger in Manhattan as the Stones were gearing up for the release of Undercover. Jagger also opened up about the prospect of releasing solo material: "I could do all kings of things. I could go very commercial – very, very commercial American pop. Or I could go for just ordinary, straight rock & roll, in an English way. Or I could mix it up: some very…you know, some hits, and some things that are a bit more experimental." Go to All Access to read the full interview
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Jagger Steps Out
In 1985, Mick Jagger released his first solo album and RS sat down with him to discuss taking a break from the Stones. "I was, you know, feeling in the mood for [a solo album], and I thought, 'Stop talking about the solo record you might do one day.' I didn't think about it too much, to be honest. I just went ahead and did it." Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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Keith Comes Clean
In 1988, Richards released his own solo album Talk Is Cheap. In the Rolling Stone Interview that appeared in the October 6, 1988 issue, Richards sized up his own budding solo career with Jagger's. "Mick is more involved with what's happening at this moment – and fashion," he said. "To me, twenty-five years of integrity went down the drain with what Mick did."
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Mick and Keith Make Peace
With the release Steel Wheels, the Stones' finest record in a decade, Jagger and Richards mended a relationship that had become fractured with their pursuit of solo careers. "I just ignored all that crap," Jagger told RS in the September 7, 1989 cover story. "I didn't see any point in rehashing it. I thought we should just get on with it. You know, English people are like that. They carry on, stiff upper lip." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Artist of the Year: The Rolling Stones
With their enourmously successful Steel Wheels Tour, the Rolling Stones topped both the readers' and critics' poll in 1990. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger reflected on their triumphant year in the March 8, 1990 cover story. Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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The Stones Return to the Road
After taking a break from the Steel Wheels Tour, the Stones returned to the road for a world tour in 1994 – and Rolling Stone was there to document the band's rehearsals in Toronto for the August 25, 1994 cover story. As writer Rich Cohen witnessed, "Watching the Stones rehearse in 1994 is like watching a tribe of religious mystics piece together a sacred text." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Jagger Remembers
For the December 14, 1995 cover, Mick Jagger gave RS the most comprehensive interview he had ever granted. Editor and Publisher Jann S. Wenner conducted the epic, in-depth interviews in multi-part sessions while the Stones were on the Voodoo Lounge tour from 1994 to 1995. Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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The Stones in ‘Babylon’
Rolling Stone went back on the road with the Stones for their 1997 Bridges to Babylon tour, catching up with the band backstage in Chicago. Jagger spoke frankly about life on tour. "It is a great thrill," he said. "It's my vocation. It's what I do. If I can do it well, I enjoy it. And if I can't do it well, I'll make sure I do it better." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Richards on Life and How To Live It
In his 2002 Rolling Stone Interview, Keith Richards opened up about how he survived years of hard-living in the 1970s, his close calls with the law and death and his volatile relationship with Mick Jagger. "I will write all your epitaphs," he said. "But I don't flaunt it." Go to All Access to read the full interview.
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The Stones Come Back with a ‘Bang’
In 2005, the Rolling Stones returned with A Bigger Bang, their strongest album in more than two decades. "If you're working with Mick in a room, it's great fun," said Keith Richards of his and Jagger's revitalized songwriting partnership. "It's just getting to those moments when its cool. We're like quarrelsome brothers, without having the same parents." Go to All Access to read the complete story.
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Depp and Richards: Blood Brothers
In 2007, Richards made an appearance on the silver screen playing Johnny Depp's father in the box office smash Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The two also revealed how they live like real-life pirates off-screen. "The music business is a pool of piranhas," said Richards. "If you want in, you better not be tasty." Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Blues Brothers
With the release of the concert doc Shine a Light (featuring Jack White), the Stones opened up about the roots of their music in the April 17, 2008 cover story. Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Jagger Rocks the Hall of Fame
For our November 29, 2009 cover story, RS went behind the scenes with Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Jagger for the 25th anniversary concerts for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Go to All Access to read the full story.
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Inside the Making of ‘Exile’
ick Jagger and Keith Richards open up about the making of the Stones' '72 masterpiece Exile on Main Street for the May 27, 2010 cover of RS. Go to All Access to read the full story.