30 Fascinating Facts About The Famous Rock Band – The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones, an English rock band formed in London in the year 1962, originally consisted of Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Ian Stewart. Currently, the band retains three founding members – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood. Here are 30 interesting facts about the band:

1. The Rolling Stones were ranked fourth in the list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," by the Rolling Stone magazine.
2. In the year 2008, the rock band was voted to #10 in the Billboard's chart of "Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists."
3. They performed a gig at the Copacabana Beach for more than 1.5 million fans in 2006, making it the largest rock concert in the history.
4. In the initial stages, the manager of the band, Andrew Loog Oldham, asked Keith Richards to remove the letter “s” from his last name Richards, as he felt to sound better. However Richards was not fine with the idea and added it back after a while.
5. The British rock band is the highest earning rock band in history with concerts that have grossed more than $750 million.
6. The iconic rough timbre that Mick Jagger is known for, was actually altered from his posh voice, after he accidentally bit off part of his tongue while younger.
7. The Rolling Stones got their name from one of their major influences, Muddy Waters and his most famous tune "Rollin' Stone Blues."
8. Their 1997's "Bridges To Babylon," was the only studio album that failed to reach the top 5 in the UK album charts as it peaked at number 6.
9. The Rolling Stones played a private concert for a fee of $7 million for the Texas investor named David Bonderman in 2002.
10. In the year 1989, The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
11. In an effort to publicize the Stones, manager Andrew Loog Oldham, asked "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" which positioned the band as the bad boy alternative to the Beatles.
12. However, this popular concept of labeling The Rolling Stones as Anti-Beatles, was purely a marketing strategy and the fact was that both the band members were really good friends with each other.
13. It is reported that their most popular 1963 hit "I Wanna Be Your Man" was actually donated by The Beatles duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney on request of the band's manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
14. Brian Jones has become a shadowy figure following his early death. However he had top billing in their initial dates. In fact, the band was called as “Brian Jones & Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones,” for a concert at the London’s Marquee Club in 1963.
15. One of the band members, Richards was arrested in 1977, for heroin possession. As part of his sentence, he played two shows in Toronto for blind children.
16. In 1963, the band's long hair style was considered controversial and outrageous. During this period, the members took out a Christmas ad in a newspaper stating "Best wishes to all the starving hairdressers and their families."
17. At 1981 Virginia's Hampton Coliseum, while playing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," a fan rushed to the stage, due to which Keith Richards momentarily stopped playing to whack the fan in the head.
18. The Rolling Stones 1981 world tour was the first tour ever to be sponsored. It is reported that Jovan perfume paid them $4 million as sponsor.
19. Director Martin Scorsese, being a big fan of The Rolling Stones, has used their famous song "Gimme Shelter" in four of his films.
20. The band's most popular tongue logo is said to be inspired by the Indian Hindu goddess Kali, The Destroyer.
21. In the year 2004, the rock band was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
22. The Rolling Stones got their first taste of “Tequila Sunrise,” in a private party in California, following which the band ordered the same during their shows. The members even went on to give pointers to bartenders while preparing the drinks, leading “Tequila Sunrise’s” popularity.
23. Ian Stewart, the band's piano player who was widely considered as the "6th Stone," was never considered as an official member of the group because manager Oldham felt he didn't fit the Stones' image.
24. It is rumored that, one of the members Bill Wyman coined the term "Groupie" during the Rolling Stones' famous 1965 Australian tour.
25. Legendary director George Lucas was one of the cameramen on the band's 1970 documentary, Gimme Shelter.
26. In 1963, The Rolling Stones' tour van skidded off a bridge accidently, but fortunately no one was seriously injured as it didn't flip over.
27. As of 2007, The Rolling Stones had four of the top five highest grossing concert tours of all time - A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-2007), Licks Tour (2002-2003), Bridges To Babylon Tour (1997-1998), Voodoo Lounge Tour (1994-1995).
28. It is reported that a team named "The Glimmer Twins," produced many of their albums. The name is actually a pseudonym for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
29. Director Wes Anderson is another fan of the Stones, using "Ruby Tuesday" in "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "I Am Waiting" in "Rushmore."
30. In July 2003, the band made headlines with their SARS benefit show dubbed "SARSstock" in Toronto, which is the most-attended concert in Canadian history.
31. The Rolling Stones Net Worth: As for the net worth of the band members – Mick Jagger’s estimated to be $360 Million, while Keith Richards is $340 Million, Charlie Watts is $170 Million, and Ronnie Wood is $90 Million.