FORMED: January 1963, London, England

The Rolling Stones define rock 'n' roll. They are the longest running act in the history of rock music, having remained wildly popular and prodigiously productive over their 30-year career. The group was formed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who met as schoolmates in Dartford, Kent. The legend has them bumping into each other on the platform at Dartford railway station, where Keith notices a blues album under Mick's arm. A bond is struck immediately and the pair go on to form a band with a variety of personnel, who eventually include a boogie-woogie pianist called Ian Stewart and a gifted blonde blues guitarist from Cheltenham called Brian Jones (although at the time he is calling himself Elmo Lewis for added authenticity). The best way to chronicle the Rolling Stones' accomplishments is to break it down by year:

1962

The Stones are just three of a growing circle of musicians who were devoted to the music of American artists like Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Elmore James. They perform these artists' songs with an almost missionary zeal to further the R&B cause, as well as earn enough money to stay alive. For some months, the impoverished early Stones live in squalor in London's Edith Grove. They beg gigs from older, jazz-tinged luminaries like Chris Barber, Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner, yet such is the Stones' raw energy and rapid development, they soon leave behind the somewhat purist and divided world of the jazz and blues establishment.

In July, the Stones take their name from a Muddy Waters song called "Rollin' Stone Blues" and make their live debut at London's Marquee Club (minus Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts). They start playing pubs and clubs around the city and suburbs. Bill Wyman joins late in the year -- the popular story being that he was asked because he had his own amplifier!

1963

In January, Charlie Watts joins the Stones and plays his first gigs. The band gigs constantly with residencies at venues like Ealing Jazz Club, Ken Colyer's Studio 51 and Eel Pie Island in Twickenham. Audiences often consist of fellow budding blues musicians like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend. Their weekly steamy nights at the Crawdaddy at Richmond's Station Hotel result in ecstatic press reviews, and in April a sharp young mover called Andrew Loog Oldham catches the Stones at the Crawdaddy and signs them to his management company the next day. He starts the "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone" press campaign which endears the group to hordes of youngsters who find the Beatles a tad cute. The shockwaves are still being felt today.

In May, the Stones are signed to Decca Records by an A&R man infamous for turning down the Beatles. A month later "Come On," the first Rolling Stones single, is released. An older generation recoils in horror as the group performs the song on England's top pop TV show "Thank Your Lucky Stars." The song -- an obscure Chuck Berry cover -- climbs to No. 21 on the U.K. charts. The second single, "I Wanna Be Your Man," is given to the group by John Lennon and Paul McCartney after they run into the Stones on the street. They finish writing it on the spot. That reaches No. 12. Live gigs are already attracting hordes of screaming teenage girls who drown out the band.

1964

The group start the year on their first major package tour supporting America's Ronettes, the girl group produced by Phil Spector. In January, the Rolling Stones EP -- four covers of current U.S. rock'n'soul classics -- appears. In February, they release a third single, a version of Bo Diddley's "Not Fade Away," which features Phil Spector on maracas.

By now the Stones are becoming a ferocious R&B machine. They ditch the stage uniforms, grow their hair longer and inspire a legion of lookalikes. No group in history has sparked such horror in the older generation. "Not Fade Away" becomes the Stones' first Top 10 entry, hitting No. 3. The first album immediately sparks controversy for being untitled and featuring no writing on the cover. It reaches No.1. The record mainly consists of raw, feisty covers by heroes like Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. It also features the first bona fide Jagger/Richards composition, "Tell Me," which was written after Andrew Oldham locked them in his kitchen with the intent of writing some songs. In April, there's teen mayhem when they play the NME Pollwinners' Concert at Wembley Arena.

In June, the band's cover of the Valentinos' "It's All Over Now" becomes the Stones' first No.1 and gold record. It was recorded at Chicago's legendary Chess studios -- home of Muddy Waters and other Stones heroes -- during the group's first visit to the States that month. The Stones go on to predate the dance music explosion by 25 years and headline their fan club's "All Night Rave" at London's Alexandra Palace, which also features John Lee Hooker and winds down at 6:30 a.m.

In August, more Chess material appears on the Five By Five EP, and November caps an eventful year with another chart-topper -- a cover of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster."

1965

The momentum continues -- as does the band's superhuman schedule -- with a second chart-topping album, Rolling Stones Number 2. In February, the single "The Last Time" (the first A-side to be written by Mick and Keith) also hits No. 1.

In August "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" sweeps the world and becomes one of the biggest Stones anthems ever. Keith says he woke up in the middle of the night in a motel room with that riff in his head and had to whack it down there and then. The following month sees the release of the Got Live If You Want It EP -- a noisy record of the live show recorded over the first three days of the March U.K. tour. The Out Of Our Heads album, recorded between U.S. dates and featuring a bunch of Jagger/Richards gems, is released in July. The chart topping "Get Off My Cloud" puts the cap on another action-packed year.

1966

February sees the single "19th Nervous Breakdown," followed by the ground-breaking, chart-vaulting Aftermath album, on which the Stones start to experiment with different instruments and 11-minute tracks. Every song is written by Mick and Keith. In May, the expansion of the Stones' sound continues on the number one "Paint It Black" single, where Brian's sitar rides the pummelling beat. September's "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby, Standing In The Shadows?" single sees the group's first dabblings with full-on psychedelia. October sees the group's last U.K. tour for three years (with Ike & Tina Turner supporting).

1967

The Between The Buttons album sees a further flowering of the psychedelically inclined studio experimentation expanding the Stones' current whimsical English pop music. In February, Mick and Keith are arrested when Keith's Redlands home is raided by the police. Thus starts the run of high-profile court appearances that divide the nation's generations and are widely believed to be part of some greater conspiracy to silence the unbelievably powerful Stones. But despite all the charges hurled against Jagger, Richards and Jones, no Stone went to jail for any extended period.

After the bust, the Stones tour Europe to literally riotous responses in many cases, and headline the massively popular "Sunday Night At The London Palladium" TV show, where they perform the already-controversial "Let's Spend The Night Together" single and its genteel flip "Ruby Tuesday." They spark further outrage by refusing to ride on the silly roundabout at the end of the show.

In August, the hastily assembled "We Love You" single is released to thank the public for their support during the Jagger/Richards trials. Lennon and McCartney pop up on backing vocals while Mick and girlfriend Marianne Faithful return the favor by joining in with the Beatles "All You Need Is Love" for the "Our World" simultaneous satellite TV broadcast. In December, the highly experimental Their Satanic Majesties Request album baffles many with its extended psychedelic explorations, but still hits the top three. Much attention is focused on its three-dimensional sleeve.

1968

In May, the Stones make a surprise appearance at the end of the NME Pollwinners' Concert. It is immediately obvious that the group have returned to their blues roots as they tear into the new "Jumpin' Jack Flash" single and "Satisfaction." After the uncertainty of the previous year the Stones are back to claim their crown as Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is released later that month and pole vaults to the top. The Beggars Banquet album is supposed to follow in August, but Decca objects to the Stones' graffiti-splattered toilet wall sleeve and it finally emerges in a plain white cover in December. The album launch party ends up with the Stones hurling custard pies in the faces of Decca executives. The album itself shows a new maturity and bluesy raunch, as well as the dark and dangerous image epitomized by "Sympathy For The Devil."

1969

After a meeting with other band members, Brian leaves the Stones on June 8, saying he wants to form a new group. A few days later the Stones hold a photo call in London's Hyde Park to introduce their new guitarist, Mick Taylor, who was formerly in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He will make his live debut with the Stones at a free concert to be held in the park on July 5, and plays on the upcoming single, "Honky Tonk Women"/"You Can't Always Get What You Want."

On July 3, Brian Jones is found dead in his swimming pool in Sussex. The Hyde Park gig becomes a memorial for Brian and the group unveil their new songs. The classic bar room raunch of "Honky Tonk Women" is unleashed a week later and shoots to No. 1.

The chart-topping Let It Bleed album is released in December and turns out to be another feast of apocalyptic blues ("Gimme Shelter"), salacious melodrama ("Midnight Rambler") and more tales from the darkside. The Stones embark on their first U.S. tour since 1966 and, in the new climate of audiences who sit and listen, find the new live power and sense of occasion which remains with them to this day. The U.S. tour climaxes in December with the tragic Altamont Speedway concert.

1970

Two years after it was filmed, Mick Jagger's movie debut in Nic Roeg and Donald Cammell's Performance finally gets released. Jagger plays reclusive rock star Turner. It's accompanied by a soundtrack to which Mick contributed "Memo from Turner."

In September, a live album of the previous year's Madison Square Garden show New York, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, hits No. 1. It's initially designed as an official alternative to the Stones bootlegs starting to appear. The 1969 tour also results in the movie, Gimme Shelter.

1971

The Stones, whose contract with Decca has expired, launch their Rolling Stones Records imprint with the mighty double header of "Brown Sugar" and "Bitch," which continue to push the barriers and court controversy with their lyrics. The band undertake a farewell tour of the U.K. as they prepare to go into tax exile in the south of France. In April the mothership album, Sticky Fingers, appears with a sleeve designed by Andy Warhol, which depicts a mystery groin complete with adjustable zipper! While the rock 'n' roll is sleazier than ever, a beautifully damaged haze hangs over tracks like "Sister Morphine" and "Wild Horses," which features the country influence of Keith's new mate, Gram Parsons from the Flying Burrito Brothers.

1972

In April, the Top Five hit "Tumbling Dice" is the first single to trailer the upcoming double album Exile On Mainstreet, recorded in the basement of Keith's house in the south of France. The album is derided at the time for sprawling self-indulgence, but Keith is always glad to point out that it is now held up among the band's most enduring work.

The Stones tour the States -- described by organizer Pete Rudge as "not like a rock 'n' roll tour, more like the Normandy landing." It sees the group setting a standard of the grand spectacle required for stadium gigs.

1973

In August, the balladic "Angie" trailers the more melodic Goats Head Soup album, recorded in Jamaica; stirring it up with the controversial "Starfucker" finale. The tour hits Europe, including a spectacular stretch at Wembley Arena.

1974

July's Top 10 single, "It's Only Rock'n'Roll," started life in Ronnie Wood's South London home studio, with David Bowie on backing vocals and the Faces' Kenny Jones on drums. The roughhouse rock feel is continued on the album of the same name, although the highlight could be considered the haunting ballad, "Time Waits For No One."

The Stones/Wood connection becomes closer when Keith appears on most of Ronnie's first solo album, I've Got My Own Album To Do, and both Mick Taylor and Jagger guest. Keith appears with Ronnie at his Kilburn State gig in July. In December Mick Taylor quits to pursue a solo career.

1975

After much speculation and a string of recording sessions-cum-auditions in Munich, which eventually give birth to the Black and Blue album, the Stones announce Mick Taylor's replacement -- Ronnie Wood. (Candidates who didn't get past the jamming phase include Jeff Beck, Peter Frampton and Rory Gallagher). Ronnie has already taken leave from the Faces to tour with the Stones, and Keith admits he nearly asked him to join back when Brian left.

1976

Black and Blue is released in April and features those guest spots from guitarists Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins and the successful Mr. Wood. "Fool to Cry" is the single and makes the Top 10. That summer, the group tour and appear straddling an unfolding lotus stage complete with giant inflatable penis and Tarzan rope for Mick.

1977

In February, Keith and Anita Pallenberg are busted in Toronto, where the Stones are playing some low-key club dates to record for an upcoming live album. October's Love You Live double album features songs from the previous tour and a side from the Toronto gigs at the El Mocambo club.

1978

The dance music-influenced "Miss You" (one of the early 12" singles) hits the number one spot in the U.S. The Some Girls LP follows. Originally called Some More Fast Numbers, some say the charged energy level is influenced by the recent punk rock explosion. In fact, the next single, "Respectable," shows the group commenting on their new status as "pillars of society" -- before slamming into brief acquaintance Margaret Trudeau, the Stones-slumming wife of the Canadian Prime Minister.

The Stones tour America to wildly enthusiastic audiences and equally ecstatic reviews. All stage props have been stripped back, to allow room for the new energy coursing through the group with a totally integrated Ronnie Wood and fully-cylindered Keith Richards.

1979

Wood releases a third solo album, Gimme Some Neck, which again features Keith and Mick. In April, the Stones join together to support Keith, doing a set for the Benefit Concert for the blind which honors the Toronto court's sentencing commitment. Keith then joins Ronnie for the New Barbarians tour. The Barbs appear at the Knebworth Festival supporting Led Zeppelin.

1980

In June a new single, the reggae and disco-tinged "Emotional Rescue," trailers the album of the same name and hits the Top 10.

1981

August sees "Start Me Up" motor into the Top 10 as a slashing kickstart trailer for the upcoming album, Tattoo You, which also includes the warm follow-up single, "Waiting On A Friend." The Stones undertake the first of periodic mega-tours which sees them astride a colossal stadium-stage, complete with hydraulic platforms and huge avant garde paintings.

1982

The Stones tour hits Europe, including several nights at London's Wembley Stadium. In June, the Stones release Still Life, a live album drawn from the '81 American gigs along with the group's cover of "Going To A Go Go."

1983

It's August and in typical Stones fashion, an agreement is reached and signed at 3:00 a.m. in Paris' Ritz Hotel by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and CBS head Walter Yetnikoff. The deal is reportedly worth 28 million dollars and calls for the Stones to deliver four studio albums.

In October, the "Undercover Of The Night" single is unveiled with the theme of South American political unrest dominating an epic video directed by Julian Temple. Mick's execution scene stirs some controversy while Keith sports a skull mask and a gun. The single reached the Top 10, as did the album with its peel-the-stickers-off-the-stripper sleeve.

1985

In February, the Stones are in Paris recording Dirty Work at Pathe-Marconi Studio. Mick Jagger releases his first solo album, She's The Boss. In June he duets with David Bowie on the specially recorded version of "Dancing In The Street" for Live Aid. Mick also appears at the all-day event in Philadelphia, singing a saucy duet with Tina Turner in which he whips off her skirt. It's his first ever live solo set performed in front of 1.5 billion viewers. Later that day, Keith and Ronnie flank Bob Dylan for an acoustic set to close the show at JFK Stadium. Three months later, Keith and Ronnie repeat their acoustic act, backing Bono for a version of "Silver And Gold," which appears on the Artists United Against Apartheid album.

Later that year, the Stones begin work on a new album. Near the end of the sessions -- which the group later admit were not their most harmonious -- their road manager, soul brother and "Sixth Stone" Ian Stewart dies of a massive heart attack in London at the age of 47. Ian had been with the group since the start and still played piano on stage. "We all felt the glue had come unstuck," says a grieving Keith.

1986

"Harlem Shuffle" -- a cover of Bob & Earl's 1964 hit featuring soul legend Bobby Womack on backing vocals -- is released in March and hits the Top 20. The Dirty Work album follows and is dedicated to Ian Stewart. It closes with one of Keith's most moving ballads, "Sleep Tonight." Again there is no tour although Charlie takes the big band across the States later that year and repeats the exercise during lulls in the Stones' schedule from then on.

1987

Keith records his first solo album for Virgin Records at Montreal's Le Studio. Taylor Hackford's Chuck Berry tribute, Hail! Hail! Rock'N'Roll, opens in October. Keith is the musical director of the movie, which features performances by Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Julian Lennon, Robert Cray and Richards himself.

1988

Mick releases his second solo album, Primitive Cool, and enjoys an hugely successful tour of Japan and Australia. In September, Keith's debut album, Talk Is Cheap, is released. He follows this with a three-week sold-out tour of the U.S. with his back-up band, the X-Pensive Winos. "Take It So Hard" is the first single and video released.

On October 16th, Keith, whose house in Jamaica suffered hurricane damage, guests at the "Smile Jamaica" hurricane relief benefit concert at the Dominion Theater, London. He plays two songs with U2-- "Love Rescue Me" and "When Love Comes To Town."

1989

At the start of the year, the Rolling Stones are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Mick, Keith, Ron and Mick Taylor are present at the ceremony held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The absence of Wyman and presence of Taylor sparks rumors that the Stones will tour with Taylor replacing Wyman, and Ron Wood will move to the bass. Pete Townshend helps induct the Stones, telling them in his speech, "Guys, whatever you do, don't try to grow old gracefully. It wouldn't suit you." Mick replies in his own speech: "After a lifetime of bad behavior, it's slightly ironic that tonight you see us on our best behavior." Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and Mick Taylor join the now-expected all-star jam session, during which Mick duets with Tina Turner on "Honky Tonk Women," and with Little Richard on "Can't Turn You Loose" and "Bony Moronie." He then brings down the house with "Start Me Up."

Keith releases his second video "Make No Mistake," directed by Paula Grief, from Talk Is Cheap in March. In May, he is presented with the "Living Legend Award" at the International Rock Awards.

Earlier, Mick and Keith meet at Eddy Grant's studio in Barbados to see if they can still write songs together. Before the meeting, there's speculation as to whether the two can still remain in the same room. Two months later, they have 12 new tunes ready, plus the usual welter of unfinished ideas. Working like they did on the classic albums of the '60's and '70's -- from the groundfloor and building -- they come out with a string of gems, which are then honed and bashed into shape by the whole group at George Martin's AIR Studios in Montserrat with Chris Kimsey co-producing. The band whack everything down live in five weeks, with mixing to follow in London.

In July, the Rolling Stones hold a press conference at New York's Grand Central Station to announce their forthcoming Steel Wheels tour and album. Mick holds up a ghetto blaster and plays the new "Mixed Emotions" single to the assembled world media. It's released in August and puts the group back onto the world's charts.

Steel Wheels is a Stones classic. A complete album of new stuff, as opposed to touched up old demos like much of the late-'70's and '80's output. The sound is raw and bristling on tracks like the first single, "Mixed Emotions," but the album also proves the band can still deliver gorgeous ballads like "Almost Hear You Sigh," or Keith's lovely "Slippin' Away."

While the album is generally acclaimed as the group's best in years, the group make it a double whammy with the awesome scope and spectacle of the "Steel Wheels" tour. The stage set is the biggest ever, a surreal post-nuclear nightmare factory, all girders, funnels and catwalks bathed in ferocious lighting and walls of fire and smoke. The set straddles the Stones' entire career in over two hours with every song a piece-de-resistance -- from the giant inflatable "Honky Tonk Women" to Mick's materialization one hundred feet above the stage for "Sympathy." The group play like their lives depend on it, and also like they were having a total blast.

Starting in Philadelphia on August 30, the huge operation (a veritable mobile army) goes on to play around 70 gigs. In December, the U.S. leg ends up at the Atlantic City Convention Center for a radio-TV simulcast. Guests include John Lee Hooker, Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin from Guns 'N Roses, and Eric Clapton.

1990

In February, the Stones tour Japan for the first time with 10 sold-out shows at Tokyo's Korakuen Dome, playing to 50,000 a night. For Europe, Steel Wheels gives way to Urban Jungle -- partly because European stadiums aren't big enough for the huge set, partly because they just fancied a change of scenery. The new stage resembles a post-nuclear tropical ruin, with giant inflatable dogs appearing during "Street Fighting Man." It hits London's Wembley Stadium in July, then again in August at the end of the tour, with the resurrection of the Steel Wheels set. Over the past year, the Stones have played 115 shows to over six million people.

1991

All five members of the band immerse themselves in solo projects. In November, at the London office of the Stones' financial advisor Rupert Loewenstein, Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ronnie are present for the signing of the Stones' deal with Virgin Records.

1992

The Stones take the year off to recharge their batteries. Meanwhile Richards records and releases his second solo album, Main Offender, on Virgin. He tours Europe and then goes where no Stone has gone before -- Argentina, where the X-Pensive Winos play to a Buenos Aires crowd of 40,000.

1993

The Stones celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their first single. During a live interview on the BBC's "London Tonight" news program in January, Bill Wyman finally makes it official: "I really don't want to do it anymore." Regarding his efforts to prevent Bill from quitting, Keith states: "I did everything but hold him at gunpoint." Also in January, Ronnie plays the first of four solo concerts in Japan, wrapping up on the 14th at Tokyo's Budokan. Meanwhile, Mick releases his third solo album, Wandering Spirit. The night of the release, Mick plays a private concert for 1,200 invited guests at New York's Webster Hall. Guests include Robert De Niro and Francis Ford Coppola. Mick performs 11 songs from his new album, then encores with the Stones' "Rip This Joint," "Live With Me," and "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby (Standing In The Shadows)?" The tour ends with sell-out shows in Tokyo. Three days later in Seattle, Keith opens the U.S. leg of his Main Offender tour. Later in the year, Billy Joel ind ucts Keith into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

1994

After pre-production in Barbados, the Stones gather in Dublin, Ireland at Windmill Studios to start work on a new album. Their first under a new deal with Virgin, the band sees much of the back catalogue re-mastered on CD. Don Was is picked as co-producer of Voodoo Lounge alongside the Glimmer Twins. Was, who made his name with the surreal rock 'n' soul of Was Not Was, has recently produced Bonnie Raitt, the B-52's, Bob Dylan and Iggy Pop. Bassist Darryl Jones and keyboard player Chuck Leavell are called in to help out. Other guests include Ivan Neville, Bobby Womack, Bernard Fowler, Benmont Tench, Flaco Jimenez and Luis Jardim.

The results are staggering. As virtually all reviews have pointed out, Voodoo Lounge is peak Stones; a group firing on all cylinders. After the success of the Steel Wheels project, the Stones know they have nothing to prove and the new sound seems less self-conscious and more inventive than their recent work. It's the sound of a group getting together and raising the hell they know and love. Mick's singing is stronger and more expressive than usual, notably on the chilling anti-terrorism ballad "Blinded By Rainbows," and lascivious car song "Brand New Car," which is in the best tradition of double entendre blues. Like all Rolling Stones classic albums, each song is propelled by Keith's explosive guitar riffs and underpinned by Charlie's ferocious drumming.

The album and its accompanying tour is announced in New York -- this time after the group arrive via boat at Pier 60. The tour kicks off on August 1 at Washington. D.C.'s RFK Stadium, and plays the U.S., Canada, Japan, Mexico, South America and the Far East. As Bobby Keys, long time Stones sax player, once remarked in a choice moment during the 1971 outing: "Looks like rock 'n' roll is on the road again!"

And how! The Voodoo Lounge tour launches with a shower of praise from critics and fans alike. In between playing to sold-out shows in stadiums across the U.S., the Stones find time to pick up an MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, plus a Billboard Award for Artistic Excellence. The band also make history on November 10, when they become the first rock 'n' roll band to broadcast a concert live on the Internet. By the end of the year, sales of the Voodoo Lounge album pass the four million mark, and the North American leg of the tour is written into the record books as the most successful tour in history.

1995

The year starts in Stones' usual breathless fashion -- this time because of the high altitude of Mexico City's Autodromo Stadium. A lack of oxygen was no problem throughout the South American leg of the tour. Having never played South America as a band before, the Stones are greeted with a fever-pitch hysteria that's overwhelming, even by Latin standards. In Argentina, they are mobbed wherever they go and are kept awake by 5:00 a.m. reprises of the chorus of "Wild Horses."

The band sweep through South Africa, a seven-night sell-out stand at the Tokyo Dome, and Australasia before embarking on the final leg of the tour in Europe on June 3 in Stockholm. In Montpellier, they are joined on stage by Bob Dylan for the aptly-titled "Like a Rolling Stone." The band later release their version of the song as a single. While on the road, the band find time to stop and record acoustic versions of classics like "Street Fighting Man," and more arcane numbers like "Spider and the Fly" and "I'm Free." These tracks make up the live acoustic album Stripped. The tour ends in Rotterdam on August 30 with the promise that this will definitely not be the last time.

While the release of Stripped is seen as a present-day celebration of past glories, the Stones end the year by re-enforcing their commitment to the future by making it enhanced with multimedia content. The band also launch their second official website (Stonesworld) and release their debut CD-ROM (Voodoo Lounge).

1996

Even when not active, the Stones are everywhere, with music featured in Casino (released late in '95), Basquiat (in which Keith also has a song called "Nearness to You" recorded in 1980), and The Fan. Meanwhile, the band once again get involved in solo projects. Charlie Watts is the first to break cover with the release of his quintet's Long Ago & Far Away, which features classics from the likes of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael. At his home in Jamaica, Keith completes production work on an album which features traditional Rastafarian Bingi drums (to be released later this year).

1997

The Stones continue to redefine rock music and themselves in the process. The ageless rockers begin recording the follow-up to Voodoo Lounge in a Los Angeles studio with executive producer Don Was and producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. The Dust Brothers (Beck, the Beastie Boys) take over behind the mixing board, with mixer/producer Danny Saber (who has re-mixed tracks for U2 and Garbage) and Was also producing a few songs each. Bridges To Babylon is released in the fall.

1998

In November, the Stones chronicle their 1998 tour with the release of No Security, their third live album of the decade.

By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the

title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based rock & roll that came to define hard rock. With his preening machismo and latent maliciousness, Mick Jagger became the prototypical rock frontman, tempering his macho showmanship with a detached, campy irony while Keith Richards and Brian Jones wrote the blueprint for sinewy, interlocking rhythm guitars. Backed by the strong yet subtly swinging rhythm section of bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts, the Stones became the breakout band of the British blues scene, eclipsing such contemporaries as the Animals and Them. Over the course of their career, the Stones never really abandoned blues, but as soon as they reached popularity in the U.K., they began experimenting musically, incorporating the British pop of contemporaries like the Beatles, Kinks, and Who into their sound. After a brief dalliance with psychedelia, the Stones re-emerged in the late '60s as a jaded, blues-soaked hard rock quintet. The Stones always flirted with the seedy side of rock & roll, but as the hippie dream began to break apart, they exposed and reveled in the new rock culture. It wasn't without difficulty, of course. Shortly after he was fired from the group, Jones was found dead in a swimming pool, while at a 1969 free concert at Altamont, a concertgoer was brutally killed during the Stones' show. But the Stones never stopped going. For the next 30 years, they continued to record and perform, and while their records weren't always blockbusters, they were never less than the most visible band of their era -- certainly, none of their British peers continued to be as popular or productive as the Stones. And no band since has proven to have such a broad fan base or far-reaching popularity, and it is impossible to hear any of the groups that followed them without detecting some sort of influence, whether it was musical or aesthetic.

Throughout their career, Mick Jagger (vocals) and Keith Richards (guitar, vocals) remained at the core of the Rolling Stones. The pair initially met as children at Dartford Maypole County Primary School. They drifted apart over the next ten years, eventually making each other's acquaintance again in 1960, when they met through a mutual friend, Dick Taylor, who was attending Sidcup Art School with Richards. At the time, Jagger was studying at the London School of Economics and playing with Taylor in the blues band Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Shortly afterward, Richards joined the band. Within a year, they had met Brian Jones (guitar, vocals), a Cheltenham native who had dropped out of school to play saxophone and clarinet. By the time he became a fixture on the British blues scene, Jones had already had a wild life. He ran away to Scandinavia when he was 16; by that time, he had already fathered two illegitimate children. He returned to Cheltenham after a few months, where he began playing with the Ramrods. Shortly afterward, he moved to London, where he played in Alexis Korner's group, Blues Inc. Jones quickly decided he wanted to form his own group and advertised for members; among those he recruited was the heavyset blues pianist Ian Stewart.

As he played with his group, Jones also moonlighted under the name Elmo Jones at the Ealing Blues Club. At the pub, he became reacquainted with Blues, Inc., which now featured drummer Charlie Watts, and, on occasion, cameos by Jagger and Richards. Jones became friends with Jagger and Richards, and they soon began playing together with Taylor and Stewart; during this time, Mick was elevated to the status of Blues, Inc.'s lead singer. With the assistance of drummer Tony Chapman, the fledgling band recorded a demo tape. After the tape was rejected by EMI, Taylor left the band to attend the Royal College of Art; he would later form the Pretty Things. Before Taylor's departure, the group named itself the Rolling Stones, borrowing the moniker from a Muddy Waters song.

The Rolling Stones gave their first performance at the Marquee Club in London on July 12, 1962. At the time, the group consisted of Jagger, Richards, Jones, pianist Ian Stewart, drummer Mick Avory, and Dick Taylor, who had briefly returned to the fold. Weeks after the concert, Taylor left again and was replaced by Bill Wyman, formerly of the Cliftons. Avory also left the group -- he would later join the Kinks -- and the Stones hired Tony Chapman, who proved to be unsatisfactory. After a few months of persuasion, the band recruited Charlie Watts, who had quit Blues, Inc. to work at an advertising agency once the group's schedule became too hectic. By 1963, the band's lineup had been set, and the Stones began an eight-month residency at the Crawdaddy Club, which proved to substantially increase their fan base. It also attracted the attention of Andrew Loog Oldham, who became the Stones' manager, signing them from underneath Crawdaddy's Giorgio Gomelsky. Although Oldham didn't know much about music, he was gifted at promotion, and he latched upon the idea of fashioning the Stones as the bad-boy opposition to the clean-cut Beatles. At his insistence, the large yet meek Stewart was forced out of the group, since his appearance contrasted with the rest of the group. Stewart didn't disappear from the Stones; he became one of their key roadies and played on their albums and tours until his death in 1985.

With Oldham's help, the Rolling Stones signed with Decca Records, and that June, they released their debut single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On." The single became a minor hit, reaching number 21, and the group supported it with appearances on festivals and package tours. At the end of the year, they released a version of Lennon-McCartney's "I Wanna Be Your Man" that soared into the Top 15. Early in 1964, they released a cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," which shot to number three. "Not Fade Away" became their first American hit, reaching number 48 that spring. By that time, the Stones were notorious in their homeland. Considerably rougher and sexier than the Beatles, the Stones were the subject of numerous sensationalistic articles in the British press, culminating in a story about the band urinating in public. All of these stories cemented the Stones as a dangerous, rebellious band in the minds of the public, and had the effect of beginning a manufactured rivalry between them and the Beatles, which helped the group rocket to popularity in the U.S. In the spring of 1964, the Stones released their eponymous debut album, which was followed by "It's All Over Now," their first U.K. number one. That summer, they toured America to riotous crowds, recording the Five by Five EP at Chess Records in Chicago in the midst of the tour. By the time it was over, they had another number one U.K. single with Howlin' Wolf's "Little Red Rooster." Although the Stones had achieved massive popularity, Oldham decided to push Jagger and Richards into composing their own songs, since they -- and his publishing company -- would receive more money that away. In June of 1964, the group released their first original single, "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)," which became their first American Top 40 hit. Shortly afterward, a version of Irma Thomas' "Time Is on My Side" became their first U.S. Top Ten. It was followed by "The Last Time" in early 1965, a number one U.K. and Top Ten U.S. hit that began a virtually uninterrupted string of Jagger-Richards hit singles. Still, it wasn't until the group released "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in the summer of 1965 that they were elevated to superstars. Driven by a fuzz-guitar riff designed to replicate the sound of a horn section, "Satisfaction" signaled that Jagger and Richards had come into their own as songwriters, breaking away from their blues roots and developing a signature style of big, bluesy riffs and wry, sardonic lyrics. It stayed at number one for four weeks and began a string of Top Ten singles that ran for the next two years, including such classics as "Get off My Cloud," "19th Nervous Breakdown," "As Tears Go By," and "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"

By 1966, the Stones had decided to respond to the Beatles' increasingly complex albums with their first album of all-original material, Aftermath. Due to Brian Jones' increasingly exotic musical tastes, the record boasted a wide range of influences, from the sitar-drenched "Paint It, Black" to the Eastern drones of "I'm Going Home." These eclectic influences continued to blossom on Between the Buttons (1967), the most pop-oriented album the group ever made. Ironically, the album's release was bookended by two of the most notorious incidents in the band's history. Before the record was released, the Stones performed the suggestive "Let's Spend the Night Together," the B-side to the medieval ballad "Ruby Tuesday," on The Ed Sullivan Show, which forced Jagger to alter the song's title to an incomprehensible mumble, or else face being banned. In February of 1967, Jagger and Richards were arrested for drug possession, and within three months, Jones was arrested on the same charge. All three were given suspended jail sentences, and the group backed away from the spotlight as the summer of love kicked into gear in 1967. Jagger, along with his then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, went with the Beatles to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; they were also prominent in the international broadcast of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Appropriately, the Stones' next single, "Dandelion"/"We Love You," was a psychedelic pop effort, and it was followed by their response to Sgt. Pepper, Their Satanic Majesties Request, which was greeted with lukewarm reviews.

The Stones' infatuation with psychedelia was brief. By early 1968, they had fired Andrew Loog Oldham and hired Allen Klein as their manager. The move coincided with their return to driving rock & roll, which happened to coincide with Richards' discovery of open tunings, a move that gave the Stones their distinctively fat, powerful sound. The revitalized Stones were showcased on the malevolent single "Jumpin' Jack Flash," which climbed to number three in May 1968. Their next album, Beggar's Banquet, was finally released in the fall, after being delayed for five months due its controversial cover art of a dirty, graffiti-laden restroom. An edgy record filled with detours into straight blues and campy country, Beggar's Banquet was hailed as a masterpiece among the fledgling rock press. Although it was seen as a return to form, few realized that while it opened a new chapter of the Stones' history, it also was the closing of their time with Brian Jones. Throughout the recording of Beggar's Banquet, Jones was on the sidelines due to his deepening drug addiction and his resentment of the dominance of Jagger and Richards. Jones left the band on June 9, 1969, claiming to be suffering from artistic differences between himself and the rest of the band. On July 3, 1969 -- less than a month after his departure -- Jones was found dead in his swimming pool. The coroner ruled that it was "death by misadventure," yet his passing was the subject of countless rumors over the next two years.

By the time of his death, the Stones had already replaced Brian Jones with Mick Taylor, a former guitarist for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He wasn't featured on "Honky Tonk Women," a number one single released days after Jones' funeral, and he contributed only a handful of leads on their next album, Let It Bleed. Released in the fall of 1969, Let It Bleed was comprised of sessions with Jones and Taylor, yet it continued the direction of Beggar's Banquet, signaling that a new era in the Stones' career had begun, one marked by ragged music and an increasingly wasted sensibility. Following Jagger's filming of Ned Kelly in Australia during the first part of 1969, the group launched its first American tour in three years. Throughout the tour -- the first where they were billed as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band -- the group broke attendance records, but it was given a sour note when the group staged a free concert at Altamont Speedway. On the advice of the Grateful Dead, the Stones hired Hell's Angels as security, but that plan backfired tragically. The entire show was unorganized and in shambles, yet it turned tragic when the Angels killed a young black man, Meredith Hunter, during the Stones' performance. In the wake of the public outcry, the Stones again retreated from the spotlight and dropped "Sympathy for the Devil," which some critics ignorantly claimed incited the violence, from their set.

As the group entered hiatus, they released the live Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! in the fall of 1970. It was their last album for Decca/London, and they formed Rolling Stones Records, which became a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. During 1970, Jagger starred in Nicolas Roeg's cult film Performance and married Nicaraguan model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, and the couple quickly entered high society. As Jagger was jet-setting, Richards was slumming, hanging out with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons. Keith wound up having more musical influence on 1971's Sticky Fingers, the first album the Stones released though their new label. Following its release, the band retreated to France on tax exile, where they shared a house and recorded a double album, Exile on Main St. Upon its May 1972 release, Exile on Main St. was widely panned, but over time it came to be considered one of the group's defining moments.

Following Exile, the Stones began to splinter in two, as Jagger concentrated on being a celebrity and Richards sank into drug addiction. The band remained popular throughout the '70s, but their critical support waned. Goats Head Soup, released in 1973, reached number one, as did 1974's It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, but neither record was particularly well received. Taylor left the band after It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, and the group recorded their next album as they auditioned new lead guitarists, including Jeff Beck. They finally settled on Ron Wood, former lead guitarist for the Faces and Rod Stewart, in 1976, the same year they released Black n' Blue, which only featured Wood on a handful of cuts. During the mid- and late '70s, all the Stones pursued side projects, with both Wyman and Wood releasing solo albums with regularity. Richards was arrested in Canada in 1977 with his common-law wife Anita Pallenberg for heroin possession. After his arrest, he cleaned up and was given a suspended sentence the following year. The band reconvened in 1978 to record Some Girls, an energetic response to punk, new wave, and disco. The record and its first single, the thumping disco-rocker "Miss You," both reached number one, and the album restored the group's image. However, the group squandered that goodwill with the follow-up, Emotional Rescue, a number one record that nevertheless received lukewarm reviews upon its 1980 release. Tattoo You, released the following year, fared better both critically and commercially, as the singles "Start Me Up" and "Waiting on a Friend" helped the album spend nine weeks at number one. The Stones supported Tattoo You with an extensive stadium tour captured in Hal Ashby's movie Let's Spend the Night Together and the 1982 live album Still Life.

Tattoo You proved to be the last time the Stones completely dominated the charts and the stadiums. Although the group continued to sell out concerts in the '80s and '90s, their records didn't sell as well as previous efforts, partially because the albums suffered due to Jagger and Richards' notorious mid-'80s feud. Starting with 1983's Undercover, the duo conflicted about which way the band should go, with Jagger wanting the Stones to follow contemporary trends and Richards wanting them to stay true to their rock roots. As a result, Undercover was a mean-spirited, unfocused record that received relatively weak sales and mixed reviews. Released in 1986, Dirty Work suffered a worse fate, since Jagger was preoccupied with his fledgling solo career. Once Jagger decided that the Stones would not support Dirty Work with a tour, Richards decided to make his own solo record with 1988's Talk Is Cheap. Appearing a year after Jagger's failed second solo album, Talk Is Cheap received good reviews and went gold, prompting Jagger and Richards to reunite late in 1988. The following year, the Stones released Steel Wheels, which was received with good reviews, but the record was overshadowed by its supporting tour, which grossed over 140 million dollars and broke many box office records. In 1991, the live album Flashpoint, which was culled from the Steel Wheels shows, was released.

Following the release of Flashpoint, Bill Wyman left the band; he published a memoir, Stone Alone, within a few years of leaving. The Stones didn't immediately replace Wyman, since they were all working on solo projects; this time, there was none of the animosity surrounding their mid-'80s projects. The group reconvened in 1994 with bassist Darryl Jones, who had previously played with Miles Davis and Sting, to record and release the Don Was-produced Voodoo Lounge. The album received the band's strongest reviews in years, and its accompanying tour was even more successful than the Steel Wheels tour. On top of being more successful than its predecessor, Voodoo Lounge also won the Stones their first Grammy for Best Rock Album. Upon the completion of the Voodoo Lounge tour, the Stones released the live, "unplugged" album Stripped in the fall of 1995. Similarly, after wrapping up their tour in support of 1997's Bridges to Babylon, the group issued yet another live set, No Security, the following year. A high-profile greatest-hits tour in 2002 was launched despite the lack of a studio album to support, and its album document Live Licks appeared in 2004. A year later, the group issued A Bigger Bang, their third effort with producer Don Was.


News on The Rolling Stones

At least 20 hurt in melee at Argentine Stones gig Buenos Aires -- Rowdy fans trying to enter a concert by the Rolling Stones without having tickets fought running battles with police Thursday and authorities said at least 20 people were injured. Dozens of the fans were detained, police reported.

The clashes broke out when scores of fans were stopped by police at the entrances to the Monumental soccer stadium where Mick Jagger and his band were to perform later.

Police fired rubber bullets and used water cannons and clubs. The fans replied by throwing rocks and bottles at police. Local television showed the fans being chased by police in the streets.

The Emergency Medical Service reported that at least 20 people were injured, including a TV cameraman.