Ian Stewart (18 July 1938 – 12 December 1985) was a Scottish keyboardist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones. He was removed from the line-up in May 1963 at the request of manager Andrew Loog Oldham who felt he didn’t fit the band’s image. He remained as road manager and pianist and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the rest of the band in 1989. (More from Wikipedia)
In 1962, Dick Taylor was in a band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Brian Jones was recruiting members for his own band, and these three joined up along with Ian Stewart. Jones came up with the name Rollin’ Stones for the band; they went through several drummers before Charlie Watts joined the line-up.
The first performance by what was then called the Rollin’ Stones – named after the landmark blues song “Rollin’ Stone” by Muddy Waters – took place on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London. The line-up at that time was Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Dick Taylor (bass) and Mick Avory (drums – Avory himself recalls that it was actually Tony Chapman). Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had known each other as children and were reacquainted by Dick Taylor, who was a mutual friend. Bill Wyman replaced Dick Taylor on bass in December 1962; Taylor then became one of the founding members of the Pretty Things, a band that is as long-lived and (in some circles) as beloved as the Stones, though with a significantly lower profile. When Charlie Watts joined the band on drums in January 1963, and with Ian Stewart removed from the official band membership (also in 1963), the classic line-up of the Rolling Stones was born.
(January 2015/2)
