The Rolling Stones /

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica, guitar), and Keith Richards (guitar, vocals). Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up. R and blues cover songs dominated the Rolling Stones' early material, but their repertoire has always included rock and roll. Critic and musicologist Robert Palmer attributes the Rolling Stones' endurance and relevance to having been "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone". The Rolling Stones have been credited for the greater international popularity of the primitive urban blues typified by Chess Records' artists such as Muddy Waters, who wrote "Rollin' Stone", the song from which the band got its name. Jones first led the band until Jagger and Richards assumed leadership after teaming as songwriters. By 1969 Jones' diminishing contributions to the band and his inability to tour led to him leaving the band three weeks before he drowned in his swimming pool.