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The Rolling Stones on Fire: 1978 U.S. Tour
Back to Basics: The Rolling Stones’ Raw and Rowdy 1978 Tour
The Stones 1978 US tour took place during June and July following the release of the Some Girls album, a total of 25 shows, starting in Lakeland, Florida (June 10) and closing down at the Oakland Coliseum on July 26. *By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Stripped rock’n’roll! This time maybe the tour employed a more pared-down, simple stage presentation than the one the Stones used during the Tour of the Americas ’75 and Tour of Europe ’76 as a result of the rise of the punk rock movement and its emphasis on music and attitude against lavish stage productions.
The fact that the tour was essentially a return to the band’s foundations in terms of both sound and appearance has led many fans to consider it to be among their best. A lot of songs from the then-newly released Some GirlsLP were included, as well as a return to a mix of classic Stones numbers (Tumbling Dice, Star Star, Happy, Street Fighting Man, etc.) mixed with blues numbers, Chuck Berry covers (Sweet Little Sixteen, Let It Rock) or even Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog.
Surprises, Aliases, and All-Star Openers: Inside the Stones’ 1978 U.S. Tour
In fact this time the Stones performed in a variety of theaters, arenas, and stadiums—a practice they would continue for many of their upcoming tours—even sometimes going by an alias (for example, when in Lakeland, Florida, they were billed on the ticket as “The Great Southeast Stoned Out Wrestling Champions”) As for the instrument, Charlie Watts utilized a china cymbal as a crash for the first time on this tour, and it was also the first time he had used the renowned Gretsch drum set that he would carry with the Stones until his passing.
Among the opening bands, this time the Stones has a large number of artists, including Foreigner, Etta James, Journey, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Van Halen, Patti Smith, The Doobie Brothers, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Eddie Money, Furry Lewis, April Wine and The Outlaws.
The group’s typical plan of performing in Europe every three years, which had begun in 1967, was broken when this US tour finally didn’t continue into Europe in the following year. After taking a year off from performing, Keith Richards decided to accompany Ronnie Wood on his 1979 solo US tour in support of his album Gimme Some Neck, which led him to form of The New Barbarians.
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