The Rolling Stones are pictured in a tour promotional photo. (Credit: Mark Seliger)
The Rolling Stones as we know them wouldn’t exist without Chicago.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards crossed paths as kids, but they really connected as teenagers at a train station east of London in October 1961. That’s where and when they discovered a common interest in Chicago rhythm and blues.
Keith toted his guitar case, and Mick carried the albums “The Best of Muddy Waters” and Chuck Berry’s “Rockin’ at the Hops” – both from Chicago’s Chess Records. The LPs were hard to find in England, and Jagger had ordered them directly from Chess, where they’d been recorded at 2120 S. Michigan Ave.
The young musicians idolized Chicago greats Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, and Howlin’ Wolf. When they formed a band in 1962, founder Brian Jones nicked the name from a song by Muddy Waters, “Rollin’ Stone.”
The Rolling Stones must be the most Chicago-centric band on the planet that isn’t from Chicago. In celebration of the Rolling Stones return to Chicago on their “Hackney Diamonds” tour, here are – in no particular order – historic highlights from the many times the world’s greatest rock and roll band visited the blues capital of the world.
1. On Nov. 22, 1981, the Stones joined Muddy Waters onstage at the Checkerboard Lounge on East 43rd Street before three shows at the Rosemont Horizon. Jagger, Richards, Ron Wood and Ian Stewart were present; drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman didn’t make it. Former WTTW cameraman Emmett Wilson was on camera: “The limo pulled up, and they came out, drinking and smoking and cool. They filed past me — that’s the shot of them arriving — and then proceeded to climb over tables into the crowded room.” WTTW engineer Dan Rozkuszka worked lights: “It was a very small room — crowded and smoky — and they were into it.” Once a popular bootleg, the show finally received an official release in 2012.
Read the full story: The Stones Played Chicago’s Checkerboard Lounge With Muddy Waters. Here’s How WTTW Crew Members Remember the Night
2. On July 8, 1978, Mick, Keith and Ron played the Quiet Knight at 953 W. Belmont Ave. The Stones had just played Soldier Field for the first time, and Willie Dixon brought them to the second-floor club to jam with Muddy Waters and Pinetop Perkins. The next night, Mick Jagger visited Kingston Mines to catch a set by bluesman Lefty Dizz. (Note: Details on these appearances are scarce — if you were there, please share.)
3. The Rolling Stones performed their first concert in Chicago at the Arie Crown Theatre on Nov. 15, 1964, and they returned to the Arie Crown twice in 1965. Their sets at the time consisted mostly of cover tunes, including Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” the Beatles’ “I Wanna Be Your Man” and a bunch of Chuck Berry songs. Tickets on their first American tour cost $3.50, tax included. The opening act was The Shangri-Las, whose single “Leader of the Pack” was about to go to No. 1.
4. The Rolling Stones recorded in Chicago before they ever played a concert here. Five months ahead of their first Chicago show, the Stones had a two-day recording session at their musical mecca, Chess Studios. In June 1964 — 60 years ago this month –– the band recorded a batch of songs from the Chess catalog. They also recorded an original tune as a tribute — the rollicking R&B instrumental “2120 South Michigan Avenue,” with Mick on tambourine and original member Ian Stewart on keyboards.
5. Before the Stones recorded at Chess on their first day in Chicago, they were guests on WMAQ-AM’s “The Jack Eigen Show.” Eigen had a reputation for being abrasive. Bill Wyman remembered it this way: “He asked us a lot of stupid questions – a typical experience on that first tour.” Later the band listened on the radio as Eigen mocked them, and Jagger declared him a “phony bum.” The Stones were much happier the next day when they turned heads with a press conference on a traffic island in the middle of Michigan Avenue — at least until the police told them to move to the sidewalk in front of Tribune Tower.
6. Also on their first trip to Chicago, they dined with entertainment reporter Richard Christiansen, then with the Chicago Daily News. According to Bill Wyman in his book “Rolling with the Stones,” a stout, bald man spotted the Stones in the dining room and asked aloud “Is there a barber in the house?” The band shot back: “Get out, you slob! Beat it, baldy! Jealous? What’s the matter, stupid? Can’t you do better than that?” The guy left and hopefully learned a lesson — don’t insult the Rolling Stones in front of a journalist.
7. An early composition by Jagger and Richards, “The Last Time,” was modeled after “This May Be the Last Time,” a traditional gospel song recorded by the Staple Singers for Chicago’s Vee-Jay Records. The Stones sped up the tempo and steered the subject from spirituality to sexuality. The song’s memorable guitar hook was played by Brian Jones. An orchestral version of “The Last Time” by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra was sampled for the 1997 song “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve.
8. In November 1969, the Rolling Stones returned after a three year absence and did a pair of shows at the International Amphitheater, 4220 South Halsted. Mick Taylor, then 20, was the new guitar player, replacing Brian Jones who had died in July. These concerts introduced Chicago audiences to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Street Fighting Man” and “Sympathy for the Devil.” Three weeks later, the Rolling Stones played the chaotic free concert at Altamont Speedway, where members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang — hired as security for all the beer they could drink — killed a concertgoer.
9. In June 1972, they visited the International Amphitheatre again and played the Chicago premieres of “Brown Sugar,” “Tumbling Dice” and “Happy.” Tickets with a face value of $6.50 were scalped for $70. Stevie Wonder was the opening act and sometimes joined the Stones for an encore medley that included “Uptight (Everything’s Alright).” According to Bill Wyman, they stayed overnight at the Playboy mansion, where they watched the mockumentary “Is There Sex after Death?” and a film by Robert Frank, the esteemed photographer filming their tour.
Mick Jagger, right, and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones perform in Chicago in 1975. (Credit: Jim Summaria)
10. A notable Illinois show occurred in 1981 in Rockford, which wasn’t on the tour itinerary. When Rockford radio station WZOK-FM enlisted 35,000 people to sign a petition inviting The Rolling Stones to play the city, the band replied via telegram: “To the music fans of Rockford: we are overwhelmed by your gracious invitation. We accept.” The Stones played the MetroCentre on Oct. 1, 1981, on the Tattoo You Tour. WZOK declared “it could be the greatest moment in Rockford music history.”
11. A formative version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was first recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago in November 1964 —some reports say Keith Richards also worked on it in May 1965. The band later re-recorded the song at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, adding the distinctive fuzzbox sound to the guitar riff. The lyrics were reportedly inspired by Chuck Berry’s “30 Days” (“If I don’t get no satisfaction from the judge”). In November 1965, their third visit to Chicago in 13 months, they closed the show with their first number one hit in the U.S., “Satisfaction,”
12. When the Stones played multiple nights at the Chicago Stadium in July 1975. Mick Taylor was out as guitarist and Ron Wood (Faces) was in, officially becoming a member in 1976. Billy Preston was also in the band for this tour, and the shows had more spectacle, including blow-up props and Mick Jagger swinging from a rope above the crowd. Tickets were $9.50, and the opening act was the jazz fusion group, The Crusaders.
13. Over several days in December 1992, Keith Richards and his band The X-Pensive Winos played in WTTW’s studio to record an episode of the TV series “Center Stage.” More than one production assistant – including this writer – were asked by producers to run out and buy rolling papers for the band. WTTW cameraman Emmett Wilson worked the show and recalls Keith Richards as “friendly, nice, and cool as can be,” and WTTW engineer Dan Rozkuszka remembers: “Keith came back after the show while we were doing the teardown, and he shook everybody’s hand and thanked them. That hasn’t happened before or since.”
14. Bassist Bill Wyman left the band in 1993 and was replaced by Darryl Jones, who grew up on the South Side in West Chatham. In 2006, Jones told WTTW News: “In many ways, The Rolling Stones is a Chicago blues band. There’s some kind of ethereal connection. They’re just not from Chicago.” In 2009 he told WTTW News, “It’s always fun to play Soldier Field. My mom took me there to see James Brown in 1970, so it’s a dream.” Darryl Jones has recorded and toured with the Rolling Stones since 1994.
15. The Rolling Stones returned to their blues roots with the acclaimed 2016 release “Blue & Lonesome.” It was their first studio release in 11 years, and it was their first album consisting solely of blues covers, including songs written by Willie Dixon (“I Can’t Quit You Baby”) and Little Walter (“Blue and Lonesome.”). Most of the music was originally written and recorded in Chicago. It won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
More Stones Facts:
- The Rolling Stones were joined by Taylor Swift in a June 2013 show at the United Center. Swift sang “As Tears Go By” with Mick Jagger.
- When Brian Jones missed several shows due to illness in November 1964, he recuperated at Passavant Memorial Hospital on East Superior.
- In 1970, Marshall Chess — son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess — was hired as the founding president of the Stones’ record label, Rolling Stones Records.
- The Rolling Stones played a pre-tour club concert at Chicago’s Double Door on Sept. 18, 1997. Tickets were $7.
- In 2002, the band played three shows in one week at Soldier Field, Comiskey Park, and the Aragon Ballroom, where Bono joined them for “It’s Only Rock and Roll.”
Special thanks to the following books: “Rolling with the Stones,” “Life: Keith Richards,” “The Rolling Stones 50,” “The Rolling Stones Unzipped.”
