Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
January 18 is one of those dates where Rolling Stones history stacks up fast, loud, and meaningful. Across four decades, this single day captures the band at its most powerful and revealing—turning rock shows into relief efforts, premieres into social events, and ceremonies into all-star jams. From raising vital funds for earthquake victims in Nicaragua to accepting rock’s highest honors, from massive arena shows to global charity moments, January 18 proves how the Stones constantly blurred the line between music, culture, and impact. It’s a reminder that for this band, history never stood still—it just kept rolling.
January 18, 1963: Red Lion Pub, Sutton, England (with Colin Golding on bass)
January 18, 1964: Pier Ballroom, Hastings, England (extracurricular gig)
January 18, 1973: Nicaraguan Benefit Concert, L.A. Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA (with opening acts Santana and Cheech & Chong) About a month earlier, a devastating earthquake struck Managua, Nicaragua, killing over 4,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands without homes. Mick Jagger and his then-wife Bianca, a Nicaraguan native, quickly flew humanitarian aid into the stricken area. Soon after, a benefit concert at the Los Angeles Forum raised more than $350,000 for relief efforts, making it the most successful rock charity concert of its era and drawing widespread attention to the country’s plight.
Brown Sugar/Bitch/Rocks Off/Gimme Shelter/Route 66/It’s All Over Now/Happy/Tumbling Dice/No Expectations/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Dead Flowers/Stray Cat Blues/Live With Me/All Down the Line/Rip This Joint/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man/Midnight Rambler *With guest José ‘Chepito’ Areas (congas) on You Can’t Always Get What You Want
January 18, 1983: All the Stones—minus Bill Wyman—turned up at a promotional party celebrating the premiere of the Let’s Spend the Night Togetherconcert film at Tavern on the Green in New York City. Set against Central Park’s elegant backdrop, the gathering mixed rock-star swagger with old-school Manhattan glamour, marking another high-profile moment in the band’s late-’70s media blitz.
January 18, 1989: 4th Rock’n Roll Hall Of Fame Induction (Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City) 1. Induction of the Rolling Stones by Pete Townshend/ 2. Mick Jagger speech/ 3. Keith Richards speech/ 4. Ronnie Wood speech/ 5. Mick Taylor speech Mick, accepting the award: “You know, it’s slightly ironic that tonight you see us on our best behavior, but we’re being rewarded for 25 years of bad behavior. And there’s a bit of music on the side. I have to be slightly sappy, I suppose. I must say I’m very proud to work with this group of musicians for the last 25 years… Bill and Charlie couldn’t make it. We’re pleased to be with Ronnie, Keith and myself. The other thing I’m very proud of are the songs that Keith and I have written over the last 25 years… Jean Cocteau said that Americans are funny people. First you shock them, and then they put you in a museum. But we’re not ready to hang up the number yet, so on behalf of the Stones, I’d like to thank you very much.”
Plus All Star Band performance, playing: Uptight/ Satisfaction/ Ain’t Too Proud To Beg/ Lucille/ Respect/ Come Softly To Me/ Be My Baby/ The Wanderer/ My Girl/ Get Ready/ Honky Tonk Women/ I Can´t Turn You Loose/ Bony Moronie/ Start Me Up/ Crying/ River Deep, Mountain High
Band line-up: Mick Jagger (vocals)/Keith Richards (guitar, backing vocals)/Ronnie Wood (guitar)/ Mick Taylor (guitar)/Little Richard (vocals)/ Tina Turner (vocals)/Dion (vocals)/Bruce Springsteen (vocals, guitar)/Stevie Wonder (keyboards, vocals)/Pete Townshend (guitar)/Paul Shaffer (keyboards)/Ben E. King (vocals)/The Temptations (vocals)/Paul Simon (guitar)/Will Lee (bass)/Anton Fig (drums)/Sid McGinnis (guitar)/ etc.
January 18, 1995: Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, México DF, México
January 18, 2003: Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, USA Street Fighting Man/Start Me Up/If You Can’t Rock Me/Don’t Stop/Monkey Man/Angie/Let It Bleed/Midnight Rambler/Tumbling Dice/Band introduction/Thru And Thru/Happy/Gimme Shelter/You Got Me Rocking/Can’t You Hear Me Knocking/Honky Tonk Women/Satisfaction/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/When The Whip Comes Down/Brown Sugar/Sympathy For The Devil/Jumpin’ Jack Flash *With special guest Sheryl Crow on Honky Tonk Women
January 18, 2006: Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY, USA Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Let’s Spend The Night Together/Oh No, Not You Again/Love Is Strong/Rocks Off/ Worried About You/Rain Fall Down/Midnight Rambler/Tumbling Dice/Band introduction #1/Gimme Shelter/Band introduction #2/This Place Is Empty/Happy/Miss You/Rough Justice/Get Off Of My Cloud/ Honky Tonk Women/Sympathy For The Devil/Start Me Up/Brown Sugar/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Satisfaction
January 18, 2010: Mick is interviewed live on U.S. TV’s Larry King Live, via skype, as part of a celebrity special designed to draw global attention to the crisis and generate much-needed support, the event aimed to raise awareness and funnel aid to Haiti’s earthquake victims. By bringing famous faces into the spotlight, the broadcast helped keep the humanitarian disaster in the public eye and encouraged donations at a critical moment.
January 18, 2013: Release of Aaron Neville’s album My True Story marking a special collaboration, featuring Keith Richards as a guest musician and co-producer alongside Don Was. Deeply rooted in classic soul and R&B, the project benefited from Keith’s long-standing love for the genre, adding grit, warmth, and authenticity to an album that felt both timeless and deeply personal.
January 18, 2013: Release of the 12-12-12 The Concert For Sandy Relief 2-CD set, capturing the historic benefit show staged in New York City on December 12, 2012. Featuring two live Rolling Stones tracks, the album documents a once-in-a-generation lineup of artists who came together to raise funds and support communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy: 1. You Got Me Rocking/ 2. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Like what you see? Help keep it going! This site runs on the support of readers like you. Your donation helps cover costs and keeps fresh Rolling Stones content coming your way every day. Thank you!
