Editorial Content for The Rolling Stones: The Biography
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Bob Spitz has produced the definitive book on the history of The Rolling Stones. THE ROLLING STONES: THE BIOGRAPHY is a 600+ page telling of the truly wild story of the musical group that was in trouble more often than not but managed to become one of the greatest live bands of all time. Even to this day, the Stones are kicking it on stages all across the world. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have survived a lot of otherworldly experiences to stand breathing, despite many attempts to take them down.
The book’s first 300 pages show how the band became famous (or, more accurately, infamous), considering the drug addiction, the messed-up marriages, and the endless number of children being born to various mothers. However, Spitz does a fantastic job of moving beyond the tall tales to focus on the music itself.
"I imagine that nothing now is a surprise about the Stones. Still, in his capable prose, Spitz brings out the most audacious and intimate stories about these men and their lives."
When I’ve played Desert Island Discs in the past, regardless of how many female artists rule my Spotify and how the Beatles, Elton John and Steely Dan were the soundtrack to my childhood, I always choose Exile on Main St. as my absolute winner. The array of musical styles, tones and instruments in every song on that double album presents the real reason why The Rolling Stones will go down in history as one of the greatest bands ever.
Their version of the blues (learned at the willing hands of B. B. King, Bo Diddley and Buddy Guy), their ability to use orchestras just as well as synthesizers, Keith’s hard-driving guitar work, and Mick’s way with words and his fiery vocal energy are some of the greatest musical treasures of the 20th century. So I wasn’t surprised to hear that they worked hard on every track, waking up in the middle of the night humming tunes that would become “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Gimme Shelter” and “Wild Horses.”
I imagine that nothing now is a surprise about the Stones. Still, in his capable prose, Spitz brings out the most audacious and intimate stories about these men and their lives. He gives credence to the fact that, despite the bluster of their sassy, street-tough personas, there are hearts beating inside those guys and deep thoughts ringing in their heads. Yes, the ding of cash registers and their massive fortune play a role in this story. But in the middle of their careers, it was about not just how to stay on top, but how to top what they had done.
Not every experiment has gone well, and the guys who made my Desert Island pick are no longer the ones who do the giant stadium tours. But THE ROLLING STONES: THE BIOGRAPHY is a fascinating portrait of a band and a system that does not exist now in the rock world, as it is eclipsed by so many other genres (no matter how hard Geese and Foo Fighters try to keep it going). Bob Spitz has written the truest and most complete history of the world’s most dangerous band.
Teaser
All great music is a threat. What left is there to say about The Rolling Stones? A hell of a lot, it turns out. Bob Spitz has brought his indefatigable energy and five decades of experiences in the fields and hollows of rock 'n’ roll to bear on his five-year journey to reexamine one of popular music’s greatest stories. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative that underscore just how in control of that narrative the band has been up to now. But, as with the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Spitz’s greatest gift is for the big picture. He knows where the magic is, and why it is. He is as clear-eyed a connoisseur of the show business, the spectacle and the collateral damage of this whirlwind as anyone alive. But the ultimate goal is to connect with a creative force whose power shows no signs of fading, over 60 years on.
Promo
All great music is a threat. What left is there to say about The Rolling Stones? A hell of a lot, it turns out. Bob Spitz has brought his indefatigable energy and five decades of experiences in the fields and hollows of rock 'n’ roll to bear on his five-year journey to reexamine one of popular music’s greatest stories. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative that underscore just how in control of that narrative the band has been up to now. But, as with the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Spitz’s greatest gift is for the big picture. He knows where the magic is, and why it is. He is as clear-eyed a connoisseur of the show business, the spectacle and the collateral damage of this whirlwind as anyone alive. But the ultimate goal is to connect with a creative force whose power shows no signs of fading, over 60 years on.
About the Book
From the award-winning, bestselling author of classic histories of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, a groundbreaking reckoning with the world’s greatest rock 'n' roll band.
All great music is a threat.
What left is there to say about The Rolling Stones? A hell of a lot, it turns out.
Bob Spitz has brought his indefatigable energy and five decades of experiences in the fields and hollows of rock 'n’ roll to bear on his five-year journey to reexamine one of popular music’s greatest stories. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative that underscore just how in control of that narrative the band has been up to now. Small example: no, Muddy Waters was not mopping the floors at Chess Records when the Stones showed up.
But in a larger sense, as with the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Spitz’s greatest gift is for the big picture. He knows where the magic is, and why it is. He is as clear-eyed a connoisseur of the show business, the spectacle and the collateral damage of this whirlwind as anyone alive, and that lucid gaze pierces a lot of incrusted bullshit. But the ultimate goal is to connect with a creative force whose power shows no signs of fading, over 60 years on.
At its heart the story is about two boys, Mick and Keith, and their unique, fraught, alchemical bond, often tested, never sundered. The Glimmer Twins. The bandmates, like Charlie Watts, who found their groove in relation to this double star made the trip intact, while those who struggled, like Brian Jones and Mick Taylor, were chewed up and spit out. This is a story with many dark corners, including a surprising number of deaths. But whether Jagger and Richards sold their souls to the devil is at the crossroads for blues greatness or just squeezed their heroes for every drop of inspiration, in the end their connection to their music and to each other put them in a category of one, where they very much remain.
Audiobook available, read by MacLeod Andrews
