The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones on guitar and harmonica, Ian Stewart on piano, Mick Jagger on lead vocals and harmonica, Keith Richards on guitar and backing vocals, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. Jones founded and led the band, but Jagger and Richards assumed leadership after becoming the primary songwriters. Jones' increasing physical and mental troubles forced his departure from the band two weeks prior to his drowning death in 1969. Since Wyman retired in 1993, full band members have been Jagger, Richards, Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood who joined in 1975, replacing Mick Taylor (who had followed Jones). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Rolling Stones in 1989. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list and their album sales are estimated at more than 200 million worldwide.
The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the "British Invasion" of English bands that became popular in the U.S. in the mid-sixties. They have released twenty-four studio albums, eleven live albums and numerous compilations. Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. Their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Rolling Stones' advent brought greater international recognition to the primitive urban blues typified by Chess Records' artist Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", the song for which the band is named. Critic and musicologist Robert Palmer said their endurance and relevance stems from being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone". In 2012 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary.
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