Music History

The Rolling Stones played the first of 22 consecutive weekly shows at the Ealing Jazz Club in London. During this period, they performed under the name The Rollin' Stones.

The Rolling Stones performed at the 3rd National Jazz Festival in Richmond, Surrey. The festival's headliners were Mr. Acker Bilk And His Paramount Jazz Band.

The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the British television programme “Ready, Steady, Go!”, where they performed their debut single “Come On”. Between 1963 and 1966, they appeared on the programme a total of twenty times.

The Rolling Stones began their fourth UK tour with a concert at the Astoria in London. The tour consisted of 32 shows.

The Rolling Stones recorded “I Wanna Be Your Man,” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, at De Lane Lea Studios in London. The song, written primarily by Paul McCartney and completed together with Lennon, later reached No. 12 on the UK chart.

The Rolling Stones performed at the New Elizabeth Ballroom at Belle Vue in Manchester. Two police officers fainted and another was taken to hospital with broken ribs while trying to control more than 3,000 screaming teenagers.

They released the UK EP 5 x 5, recorded at Chess Studios on Chicago's South Side, the home studio of their blues heroes. Keith Richards said that when they arrived at the building, they found Muddy Waters painting the ceiling. Several months later, the EP was expanded to album length and released in America as 12 x 5.

The Rolling Stones played the second of six concerts at the New Theatre Ballroom on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

The Rolling Stones began their first US tour with a concert in San Antonio, Texas.

The Rolling Stones recorded a cover version of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” at Regent Sound Studios in London. Brian Jones’s prominent slide guitar helped create the recording’s distinctive sound, which became the only purely blues song to reach number one on the UK singles chart.

The Rolling Stones scored their first UK number-one single with “It's All Over Now,” which one source says was released around this date.

The Rolling Stones canceled their planned South African tour because of an anti-apartheid embargo imposed by the British Musicians' Union, which banned members from playing for segregated audiences. The band did not perform in South Africa until March 1995, after apartheid had ended.

The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and his partner Tony Calder founded Immediate Records. Its first release was “Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys. Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Nico attended the launch party. The label later became home to The Small Faces, The Nice, Amen Corner and Chris Farlowe, and the young producer and guitarist Jimmy Page also worked with it.

The Rolling Stones released the single “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” in the U.S.

The Rolling Stones began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US album chart with “Out Of Our Heads”, their fourth US studio album and the group's first album to reach the top of the US chart. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and knocked “Beatles VI” from the top spot. Its success was helped by songs including “Satisfaction” (#1), “The Last Time” (#9) and “Play With Fire”.

Security staff at Granada Television's studio in Manchester used fire hoses against around two hundred screaming teenagers after they broke through security barriers while waiting for The Rolling Stones to arrive. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, the group successfully filmed its television segment, which included a performance of “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”.

The Rolling Stones announced that Allen Klein, whom they had met three days earlier, would become their manager alongside Andrew Loog Oldham. At the same time, The Rolling Stones signed a five-year recording contract with Decca Records.

The Rolling Stones performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego during their US tour before more than 15,000 fans.

The Rolling Stones appeared on the British television program Ready Steady Go! Mick Jagger and Andrew Loog Oldham performed a parody of the Sonny & Cher song “I Got You Babe”.

The Rolling Stones’ concert in Dublin ended in unrest after approximately 30 fans invaded the stage. Mick Jagger was knocked to the ground and the rest of the band fled the stage.

The Rolling Stones played two shows at the Adelphi Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following two concerts in Dublin the previous evening.

The Rolling Stones flew to Los Angeles, where they recorded their eighth single, “Get Off of My Cloud,” at RCA Studios in Hollywood. The song later reached number one in both the US and UK.

The Rolling Stones completed the recording of “Get Off of My Cloud”. The song was released two weeks later and reached No. 1 in the charts in Canada, Germany, South Africa, the US and the UK.

The Rolling Stones performed at the ABC Regal club in Chester, Cheshire, England.

The Rolling Stones performed during their British tour at The ABC in Stockton-on-Tees. Also on the bill were Spencer Davis Group, Unit Four + 2, The Checkmates, The End, and Charles Dickens and The Habits.

The Rolling Stones began a nine-day recording session at RCA Studios in Hollywood for the album “Between the Buttons.” The session continued through August 11.

The Rolling Stones made their final appearance on the British television program Ready Steady Go!

London Records released The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" in the United States, inspired by an anti-war demonstration in London attended by 25,000 people. The single reached only No. 48 in the United States because a number of radio stations refused to play it because of lyrics perceived as subversive. The original cover depicted police officers beating a demonstrator and was quickly withdrawn from sale. Decca Records did not release the single in Britain at the time.

The Rolling Stones' “Street Fighting Man” was banned by several radio stations in Chicago and other cities following violence during the Democratic National Convention, amid fears that its lyrics could provoke further unrest. Local authorities were concerned that its revolutionary lyrics could incite public disorder or further violence. According to one source, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were not particularly concerned about the censorship; Jagger joked that censorship had previously helped one of the band's records sell a million copies.

The Rolling Stones began a four-week run at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Honky Tonk Women”, their fifth US number-one single. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and was inspired by Brazilian gauchos at the ranch where they stayed in Matão, São Paulo. In the UK, the song also reached number one; it was released one day after the death of founding member Brian Jones and spent 17 weeks on the UK chart, including five weeks at number one. It was the band's last hit involving Brian Jones, who had died by drowning in his swimming pool on July 3. The song also reached number one in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland in 1969.

The Rolling Stones’ single “Honky Tonk Women” was released in the United Kingdom.

The Rolling Stones released the album "Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)" in the UK.

The Rolling Stones reached No. 1 on the US chart with “Honky Tonk Women”, their fifth single to reach the top of that chart.

Decca Records released The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man", described as their most political song. Mick Jagger wrote it after attending an anti-war demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in London in March 1968, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000 people. In the United States, the song reached only No. 48 because a number of radio stations refused to play it because of its allegedly subversive lyrics.

The Rolling Stones released the song “Angie”, which later became one of their best-known ballads.

The Rolling Stones remained at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart for a third week with "Honky Tonk Women". Johnny Cash was at No. 2 with "A Boy Named Sue", while The Archies were at No. 3 with "Sugar, Sugar".

The Rolling Stones began a 20-date European tour in Malmö, Sweden.

The Rolling Stones performed at Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.

The Rolling Stones released their second live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert. It was released by Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US, reached number six in America and was certified platinum. In the UK, it reached number one and became the first live album to top the official chart; overall, it reached the Top 10 in nine countries.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Liseberg amusement park in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany.

The Rolling Stones sued their former manager Andrew Loog Oldham over unpaid royalties.

The Rolling Stones released “Angie”, the lead single from their studio album “Goats Head Soup”. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 5 in Britain; it also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Speculation surrounded the song's title and possible inspiration, including Angela, the first wife of David Bowie, actress Angie Dickinson, Keith Richards' daughter Dandelion Angela and Marianne Faithfull. Richards, however, stated in his autobiography “Life” that he chose the name at random while writing the song, before he knew that his child would be named Angela or that the child would be a girl.

The Rolling Stones released their thirteenth studio album, "Goats Head Soup", on their own label. The album reached No. 1 in the United States, the United Kingdom and six other countries. It included the hit "Angie", which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and in several other countries, while reaching No. 5 in the United Kingdom. Other songs included "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" and "Winter". The album was regarded as a retreat from the band's breakthrough period of the previous four years.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Eisstadion in Mannheim, Germany.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Sporthalle in Cologne, Germany.

The Rolling Stones began their nine-date UK tour at Empire Pool in London. Tickets cost £2.20.