Sultry stunner BROWN SUGAR was the opener of their masterstroke
LP Sticky Fingers. The single hit the top spot in the US, and peaked
at #2 in the UK.
16 April 1976 – 50 Years Ago
Heartfelt ballad FOOL TO CRY was the lead single of their reggae-flavored
LP Black And Blue. Guitarist Mick Taylor had just left the band and was
replaced by Ronnie Wood.
The song reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 10 in the US.
After Brian Jones drowned in his pool in July 1969, The Rolling Stones replaced him with the young guitar wizard Mick Taylor who played at the time with blues hero John Mayall (who passed away last year, aged 90).
In 1975 Taylor left.
The search for a new 6-string man started once again. Rumours spread names such as Jimmy Page, Steve Marriott, Jeff Beck and Chris Spedding. But it was former Faces riff-roaster Ronnie Wood (aged 77 now) who was presented as the Rolling Stones‘ new guitarist on
14 April 1975, today 50 years ago.
The first LP Wood played on (3 songs) was, Black And Blue from 1976.
Rolling Stone magazine wrote at the time: “In a way, Black and Blue is an admirable
album just for its refusal to bow to the past. A few songs here try to sound like “Brown Sugar” and “Tumbling Dice” and those few aren’t the best ones. Still, the Stones have problems. Keith Richard recently has seemed to run out of melodic ideas altogether and, like the majority of their post-Exile on Main Street repertoire, the new numbers are based on loose riffs rather than tight song structures. Consequently, the music lacks energy. Like the Who or any rock band, the Stones are obsessed in their way with age and time, but unlike the rest, they’ve matured with confident gracefulness. For Soul Survivors, I guess, dying before you get old is simply not relevant.”
Turn Up The Volume: One of my favorite summer albums.
Simple but effective. Cocktail music for the sunny days.
