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Today in Rolling Stones history: July 4

July 4th has served as a recurring, high-octane backdrop for The Rolling Stones’ history, from chaotic 1966 Virginia Beach riots and 1972 D.C. stage invasions to the star-studded 1973 farewell to Ziggy Stardust. It is a date marked by the release of quintessential anthems like Honky Tonk Women, the passing of business antagonist Allen Klein, and decades of relentless stadium touring across the globe. Whether navigating legal nightmares or performing for massive crowds in Prague and Indianapolis, the band has consistently spent Independence Day cementing their status as the world’s most stubbornly active rock institution.

*Click for DAILY ROLLING STONES CHRONOLOGY 1962-present

July 4, 1963: Scene Club, London, England

July 4, 1966: Under The Dome Theater, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA (The Rolling Stones American Tour 1966)
Read: The Rolling Stones in Virginia Beach 1966: Chaos, Crowds, and The Dome

July 4, 1969: Release of the Honky Tonk Women / You Can’t Always Get What You Want 7″ single in the UK (Decca F 12952)
Honky Tonk Women epitomizes rock hedonism, recounting the narrator’s chaotic barroom exploits. The song depicts encounters with a bluesy cabaret dancer in Memphis, perfectly capturing the gritty, wild spirit of the era. As for You Can’t Always Get What You Want, it serves as a defining anthem of disillusionment and resilience. The lyrics navigate the ache of unmet desires and the fading idealism of the sixties, ultimately offering a profound, bittersweet reminder that perseverance frequently yields exactly what you truly need.

July 4, 1972: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA (The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972)
Brown Sugar/Bitch/Rocks Off/Gimme Shelter/Happy/Tumbling Dice/Love In Vain/Sweet Virginia/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/All Down The Line/Midnight Rambler/Band introduction/Bye Bye Johnny/Rip This Joint/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Street Fighting Man

Mick Jagger, about playing D.C. (July 1972):
“The Washington concert was pretty frightening and a bit weird. it’s difficult for me to say what it was like for the people who were there, but I guess it sounded alright to the people who were there, if you were no further than halfway back. There was trouble in front, people sitting on the stage, grabbing at your legs, getting tangled in the mike cables… Just a few loons, really, among the 40 000, but still, I couldn’t do my thing. .. I would have liked video blowups or something because there was no way for me to reach all them people, it being night and me unable to see them. It felt even bigger than Hyde Park, where there were more people, but at least it was daylight.”

July 4, 1973: The Hotel Cafe Royal in London becomes the epicenter of rock mythology as Mick and Bianca Jagger arrived to witness David Bowie’s dramatic retirement of the Ziggy Stardust persona. The guest list reads like a frantic dream sequence of music history: Lou Reed, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jeff Beck and the incomparable Keith Moon were all in attendance. It was less of a party and more of a passing of the torch, capturing the precise moment the glitter-soaked excess of the early seventies curdled into something far more permanent and legendary.
Read: Mick Jagger and Lou Reed at Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust’s Farewell Party, 1973

July 4, 1975: Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee, USA (Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas ’75)
Honky Tonk Women/All Down The Line/If You Can’t Rock Me-Get Off Of My Cloud/Star Star/Gimme Shelter/Ain’t Too Proud To Beg/Lady Jane/You Gotta Move/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Happy/ Tumbling Dice/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Band introduction/Heartbreaker/Fingerprint File/Angie/Wild Horses/ That’s Life/Outa Space/Brown Sugar/Midnight Rambler/Rip This Joint/Street Fighting Man/Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Read: Stones Visit Memphis (from Rolling Stone)

July 4, 1978: Rich Stadium, Buffalo, New York, USA (The Rolling Stones U.S. Tour 1978)
Let It Rock/All Down The Line/Honky Tonk Women/Star Star/When The Whip Comes Down/Lies/Miss You/Beast Of Burden/Shattered/Just My Imagination/Respectable/Far Away Eyes/Love In Vain/Tumbling Dice/Happy/Sweet Little Sixteen/Brown Sugar/Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Read: Inside The Rolling Stones’ 1978 Buffalo Show: A Night of Raw Rock History

July 4, 1982: Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, West Germany (The Rolling Stones European Tour ’82)
Under My Thumb/When The Whip Comes Down/Let’s Spend The Night Together/Shattered/Neighbours/ Black Limousine/Just My Imagination/Twenty Flight Rock/Going To A Go Go/Let Me Go/Time Is On My Side/Beast Of Burden/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Band introduction/Little T & A/Tumbling Dice/She’s So Cold/Hang Fire/Miss You/Honky Tonk Women/Brown Sugar/Start Me Up/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Satisfaction

July 4, 1990: Wembley Stadium, London, England (Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour)
Start Me Up/Sad Sad Sad/Harlem Shuffle/Tumbling Dice/Miss You/Almost Hear You Sigh/Ruby Tuesday/ Rock And A Hard Place/Mixed Emotions/Honky Tonk Women/Midnight Rambler/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Little Red Rooster/Can’t Be Seen/Happy/Paint It Black/2000 Light Years From Home/ Sympathy For The Devil/Street Fighting Man/Gimme Shelter/Band introduction/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Brown Sugar/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Satisfaction

July 4, 1994: Release of the Love Is Strong CD-SINGLE/EP, with four tracks: 1. Love Is Strong (album version)/ 2. The Storm/ 3. So Young/ 4. Love Is Strong (Bob Clearmountain Remix)

July 4, 2009: Death of Allen Klein, the Stones’ controversial business manager from 1965 to 1970 and founder of ABKCO Records, marked the end of a turbulent chapter in rock history. Klein’s tenure was defined by a ruthless, adversarial approach that secured the band’s commercial dominance but simultaneously trapped them in a notorious legal nightmare over master recordings. While his aggressive strategies modernized their business, they ultimately sowed deep-seated distrust, fueling a decades-long war over ownership, creative control, and royalty rights.

July 4, 2015: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA (Zip Code Tour of North America 2015)
Jumpin’ Jack Flash/It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll/Let’s Spend The Night Together/Tumbling Dice/Out Of Control/ Let It Bleed/Wild Horses/Bitch/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/Before They Make Me Run/ Happy/Midnight Rambler/Miss You/Gimme Shelter/Start Me Up/Sympathy For The Devil/Brown Sugar/ You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Satisfaction
*With special guests the Butler Chorale University Choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Read: The Rolling Stones in Indianapolis 2015: Inside the Zip Code Tour Show

July 4, 2018: Letnany Airport, Prague, Czech Republic (No Filter Tour, European leg)
Street Fighting Man/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Tumbling Dice/Ride ‘Em On Down/Under My Thumb/Like A Rolling Stone/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Paint It Black/Honky Tonk Women/Band introduction/You Got The Silver/Before They Make Me Run/Sympathy For The Devil/Miss You/Midnight Rambler/Start Me Up/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Brown Sugar/Gimme Shelter/ Satisfaction

July 4, 2018: Release of the blu-ray and 2-CD set From The Vault – No Security San Jose ’99 (Eagle Vision/Universal Music UIXY-75006, Japan) Recorded live at the San José Arena, San José, California on Apr. 19 1999

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