It seems as if the Rolling Stones are as old as time. Yet Mick Jagger and the rest of the band keep rolling on 60 years after their founding. The Stones were formed in 1962, yet now, in 2023, they are set to release their first new album since 2005 and the first since the death of long-time drummer Charlie Watts in 2021.
Far from being a relic of another generation, the Rolling Stones have continued to tour over the years aggressively. When many artists from their era and beyond have faded into obscurity, died, disbanded, or been relegated to playing casinos and Oktoberfest-type festivals, the Stones have managed to continue to pack stadiums and arenas.
The band’s catalog is long and littered with hit songs from more than five decades of music. Part of the reason for their longevity is the quality of the music. The Stones still have countless songs that stay on regular rotation on FM rock radio, and their sound has remained timeless rather than sounding dated.
Another reason, and maybe the biggest for their popularity, is Mick Jagger. The 80-year-old frontman performs with the energy and intensity of a man 30-years his younger. Factor in the immortal Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and it is no wonder the band is still accessible. There truly is something to be said for continuity, chemistry, and professionalism.
Mick Jagger spoke about retirement in an interview: “I’m thinking about what the next tour is. I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m planning the next set of tours, so the answer is really, ‘No, not really.’”
When speaking about the recording process for the album titled “Hackney Diamonds,” named after the area the band grew up in, he said: “Every day was kind of like banging through two or three songs, so you keep the excitement.” He also remarked that the album was a mixture of rock, ballads, and dance with an unusual “country-ish kind of thing.”
The death of friend and drummer Charlie Watts ultimately spurred the band to do new music. Jagger commented: “I think because of Charlie passing, we felt that we are still going and that we should still retain an identity and still say ‘Hey, it’s only rock and roll. But you know here we are’.”
The album also features a star-studded list of contributors. Former bassist Bill Wyman, Paul McCartney, and Stevie Wonder all perform on the record in some capacity.
The cultural impact of the Rolling Stones can’t be understated. They played in a different era, when rock and roll was still dangerous, and rock stars acted like, well, rock stars. The Stones would have a difficult time surviving cancel culture today, but to the boomer generation, they still embody bad behavior, a behavior many still relish.
Marc Myers, who writes about music and arts for the WSJ, summed up the Stones cultural relevance: “They are icons of the deviant side of the boomer ethos. At this point, they are on par with Harley-Davidson, jeans and Tide detergent. It’s hard to unseat a generational brand that has come to mean more than the sum of its parts.”
Indeed, the only thing that will unseat the Rolling Stones will be death. With no plans to retire or even slow down and being beyond the reach of cancel culture despite songs like “Brown Sugar,” which graphically depicts the European slave trade and the American slave era still getting radio play, the Rolling Stones continue to roll. For rock music and culture, that is a very good thing.
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
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