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April 23 stands out as a strangely rich date in Rolling Stones history, tracing the band’s evolution across decades of music, chaos, and reinvention. From their first Canadian show in Montreal in 1965 to the release of landmark albums like Sticky Fingers (1971) and Black and Blue (1976), the date captures key turning points in their legacy. It also connects to side projects and collaborations featuring Mick Taylor, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood, showing how deeply their world extended beyond the core band. Even into the 2000s and 2020, releases and projects tied to Stones members kept the date alive. Taken together, April 23 becomes more than a calendar entry—it’s a snapshot of rock history in motion.
April 23, 1963: The Rolling Stones turn up for a BBC radio audition with Ricky Fenson and Carlo Little stepping in for the unavailable Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, marking one of their last appearances in that lineup, but the session didn’t go as planned, with the band ultimately failing the audition.
April 23, 1965: Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal, QB, Canada (first Stones’ show ever in Canada)
Mid-April 1967: Keith and Anita spend time together in Rome, Italy, where she is busy filming Barbarella. While they enjoy life in the Italian capital, Brian Jones takes a holiday back in England with Keith’s former girlfriend, Linda Keith. The parallel scenes reflect the shifting relationships and complicated personal dynamics surrounding the Rolling Stones during that era.
April 23, 1971: Release of Sticky Fingers, the Stones’ 9th British and 11th American studio album SIDE A: 1. Brown Sugar/ 2. Sway/ 3. Wild Horses/ 4. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking/ 5. You Gotta Move SIDE B: 1. Bitch/ 2. I Got The Blues/ 3. Sister Morphine/ 4. Dead Flowers/ 5. Moonlight Mile
Sticky Fingers is widely considered one of The Rolling Stones’ finest albums and a landmark of their career. It became the band’s first release to reach #1 in both the UK and US, while also launching Rolling Stones Records, signaling a bold new era of independence. Blending hard rock, blues, country, and soul, the album captures the group at a creative peak. Although assembled from outtakes and heavily reworked sessions, it sounds effortless, loose, and natural. Beneath that relaxed surface lies a darker mood shaped by weariness, addiction, and emotional unrest. Brown Sugar opens with explosive energy, while Bitch and Can’t You Hear Me Knocking add power and groove, with Mick Taylor delivering standout guitar work. Wild Horses offers heartfelt beauty, I Got the Blues radiates late-night soul, and Sister Morphine tells a haunting story. The closing track Moonlight Mile ends the album with elegance, sadness, and timeless depth.
April 23, 1973: Release of Nicky Hopkins‘ LP The Tin Man Was A Dreamer, with Mick Taylor as guest on three tracks: 1. Dolly/ 2. Speed On/ 3. Lawyer’s Lament
The Tin Man Was a Dreamer is Hopkins’ acclaimed first solo album, blending piano-driven pop-rock with heartfelt songwriting. Featuring guests George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Klaus Voormann and Bobby Keys, it highlights his rare lead vocals and superb musicianship. Tracks like Dolly and Speed On reveal charm, depth, and melodic brilliance from one of rock’s greatest session players.
April 23, 1976: Release of Black and Blue, the Stones’ 13th British and 15th American studio album SIDE A: 1. Hot Stuff/ 2. Hand Of Fate/ 3. Cherry Oh Baby/ 4. Memory Motel SIDE B: 1. Hey Negrita/ 2. Melody/ 3. Fool To Cry/ 4. Crazy Mama
Black and Blue captures The Rolling Stones in a transitional yet adventurous phase. Recorded after Mick Taylor’s departure, the album doubled as an audition for new guitarists, including Ronnie Wood (still not an official Stones when taking part of the album’s recording sessions), Wayne Perkins, and Harvey Mandel. Rather than focusing on tightly structured songs, the record leans into grooves, jams, and atmosphere, revealing the band’s willingness to experiment. Rock, funk, reggae, and touches of disco blend naturally into the Stones’ sound, creating a relaxed but confident vibe. Ronnie Wood’s chemistry with the group is already evident throughout the sessions. Among the standout tracks are the emotional ballads Memory Motel and Fool to Cry, both showing a softer, more reflective side of the band. Hand of Fate and Crazy Mama provide stronger doses of straight-ahead rock energy. While it may lack the immediate hooks of some earlier classics, Black and Blue remains a fascinating album where the joy comes from hearing the Stones simply play.
April 23, 1998: United Center, Chicago, IL, USA Satisfaction/Let’s Spend The Night Together/Flip The Switch/Gimme Shelter/ Sister Morphine/You Got Me Rocking/Saint Of Me/ Out Of Control/ Miss You/Band introduction/Thief In The Night/Wanna Hold You/ Little Queenie/I Just Want To Make Love To You/Like A Rolling Stone/ Sympathy For The Devil/Tumbling Dice/Honky Tonk Women/Start Me Up/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Brown Sugar
Apr. 23, 2001: Release of John Mayall & Friends‘ CD Along for the Ride, with Mick Taylor as guest on one track: She Don’t Play By The Rules
Along for the Ride is John Mayall’s all-star blues-rock celebration, featuring legends like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, and Mick Fleetwood. Blending smooth grooves with classic blues energy, the album honors Mayall’s lasting influence. Highlights include Yo Yo Man and the powerful She Don’t Play By the Rules.
Apr. 23, 2001: Release of John Phillips‘ CD Pay, Pack & Follow, with Mick, Keith, Ronnie and Mick Taylor as guests
Released posthumously in 2001, Pay, Pack & Follow gathers (former The Mamas & the Papas‘ member) John Phillips‘ recordings made between 1973 and 1979, produced by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Featuring Keith Richards, Mick Taylor and Ron Wood, the album carries a clear Rolling Stones influence throughout. Mixing rock, blues, and space pop, it captures the decadent spirit of the 1970s with gritty lyrics, loose performances, and moments of melodic brilliance from Phillips’ songwriting.
Apr. 23, 2001: Release of Bill Wyman’s Thythm Kings‘ double-CD Double Bill
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings is a British blues-rock collective formed in 1997 by former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. Built as a rotating “all-star” band of veteran musicians, it explores blues, R&B, jazz, and early rock & roll in a relaxed, collaborative setting. Double Bill showcases Wyman’s strong bass playing alongside guests like George Harrison and Keely Smith, but the results often feel safe and low-key. While the musicianship is solid and occasionally inspired, much of the material plays like polished background bar blues rather than essential performances, making it more pleasant than truly memorable.
Apr. 23, 2004: Release of Nikki Sudden & The Last Bandits‘ CD Treasure Island, with Mick Taylor as guest on two tracks: 1. Kitchen Blues/ 2. House Of Cards
Treasure Island by Nikki Sudden & The Last Bandits is a rootsy garage-rock record steeped in Faces and Rolling Stones influence. Featuring guests like Ian McLagan and Mick Taylor, it blends swampy blues, ragged ballads, and psychedelic rock energy. Standouts like Kitchen Blues and Stay Bruised showcase its raw, romantic spirit and chaotic charm by one of the former member of The Jacobites (along Dave Kusworth)
April 23, 2020: Release of the Living in a Ghost Town single (download-only version), available for sale in June
The Stones’ No Filter Tour, launched in 2017, was interrupted by Mick Jagger’s heart surgery in 2019 and later by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this the band stayed active, contributing a remote performance of You Can’t Always Get What You Want for the One World: Together at Home benefit project. During lockdown, they also worked on Living in a Ghost Town, a new song written by Jagger in 2019 and quickly completed for release. Its lyrics about empty cities gained unexpected relevance during the pandemic. Released in April 2020, the track was issued with a global lockdown-themed video and later as physical singles.
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