There are really only two musical groups that rank as the best rock and roll musicians of all time…..The Beatles and The Rolling Stones….as all other great rock groups are merely pretenders to the crown of best of all time….and t
The Beatles with members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era even though the group was only active together from 1960 to 1970 …who enormous success in the early 1960’s first emerged as “Beatlemania”….but as the group’s music grew in sophistication….which was led primarily by songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney…..who helped the band integrate to pop music’s evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960’s.
The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the United States in 1964….who identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960’s….with music rooted in blues and early rock and roll….as the group began a short period of musical experimentation in the mid-1960’s that peaked with the psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). Subsequently, the group returned to its “bluesy” roots with Beggars Banquet (1968)…. which along with its follow-ups Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971) and Exile on Main St. (1972) is generally considered to be the band’s best work and is seen as their “Golden Age”….during which time, they were first introduced on stage as “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World”
Musicologist Robert Palmer attributes the endurance of the Rolling Stones to their being “rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music”…..all the while that “more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone”.
Since their formation in 1962….the Rolling Stones survived multiple feuds….as they have gone on to release 30 studio albums….23 live albums….25 compilation albums….and 120 singles…..and according to OfficialCharts.com….the Stones are ranked the fourth bestselling group of all time….with their top single being “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” regarded by many at the time as “the classic example of rock and roll.” The Stones have also contributed to the blues lexicon….while creating their own code words and slang….which they have used throughout their catalog of songs….including some of their more popular songs. The band has been viewed as the musical “vanguard of a major transfusion” of various cultural attitudes….which has made them accessible to youth in both America and Britain. Muddy Waters was quoted as stating that the Rolling Stones and other English bands enhanced the interest of American youth into blues musicians after they came to the United States….as sales of Waters’ albums and those of other blues musicians saw huge increases in public interest….thus helping to reconnect the country with its own music.
The Rolling Stones have sold over 240 million albums worldwide….while having held over 48 tours of varying length….to which the Stones have also held three of the highest-grossing tours of all time with their Bridges to Babylon….Voodoo Lounge….and A Bigger Bang tours. In May 2013, Rolling StoneMagazine declared them the “most definitive band that rock & roll has produced”….while stating that Mick Jagger was “the Rolling Stone who changed music”. The band has been the subject of numerous documentaries and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Pete Townshend in 1989. The Rolling Stones have inspired and mentored new generations of musical artists both as a band and individually. They are also credited with changing the “whole business model of popular music.” The band has received and been nominated for multiple awards during their 55 years as a band including 3 Grammy awards (and 12 nominations)…..the Juno award for International Entertainer of the Year in 1991….U.K.’s Jazz FM Awards Album of the Year (2017) for their album Blue & Lonesome…. and NME awards such as best live band….and the NME award for best music film for their documentary Crossfire Hurricane.
The simple fact that The Rolling Stones are entering their 56th year of performing from 1962 to 2018 puts them in a league of their own as the best of the best….and in our ImaSportsphile opinion….puts them just ahead of The Beatles as the greatest of all time…..which makes every vintage video that we have here at our site “pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories.
