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Today in Rolling Stones history: May 11

*Click for more DAILY ROLLING STONES CHRONOLOGY 1962-present

From smoky clubs in Bournemouth to stadium nights in Las Vegas, May 11 feels oddly important in the long, chaotic universe of The Rolling Stones. One minute there are rumors of Mick Jagger floating around a Baby, You’re a Rich Man session with The Beatles, the next the band is wandering through psychedelic promo shoots for Child of the Moon and Jumpin’ Jack Flash like music videos suddenly matter—which, annoyingly for old-school rock purists, they absolutely do. Add Keith Richards surviving another legendary mishap, and the deluxe re-release of Exile on Main St. turning late-night television into self-parody, and May 11 becomes less a date and more a rolling rock mythology.

May 11, 1964: Winter Gardens, Bournemouth, England (2 shows)

May 11, 1967: Mick Jagger joins the Beatles on their recording of the song Baby You’re a Rich Man at Olympic Sound Studios in London to add backing vocals to the song, though this is not supported by the documented recording history.

May 11, 1968: The Stones film a promotional film clip for Child of the Moon in the Surrey countryside, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, capturing a loose, atmospheric feel that suits the song’s dreamy, psychedelic mood. On the same day, they also shoot a second promotional version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, including a studio-based take at Olympic Sound Studios in London. The band is experimenting with different visual approaches to their singles, as promotional videos are becoming an increasingly important way to package and promote their music.

May 11, 1972: Release of Stephen Stills‘ LP Manassas, with Bill Wyman as guest on two tracks: 1. The Love Gangster (which Bill co-authored)/ 2. Rock & Roll Crazies. It was also rumoured at the time that Bill allegedly expressed a desire to leave the Stones and join Still’s band.

A sprawling, ambitious double-album-style statement, Manassas sits in the same broad creative league as works like the Beatles’ White Album or the Stones’ Exile on Main St., in its scope rather than its sound. Drawing from rock, folk, blues, country, Latin, and bluegrass, Stills and the highly skilled lineup he assembled for the project move fluidly across styles that might have collapsed into chaos in other hands, yet here form a surprisingly unified whole.

May 11, 1976: Apollo Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland

May 11, 1981: Death of reggae star Bob Marley. He dies in Miami, aged 36, after a battle with melanoma that had spread from his toe to his brain and lungs. He had collapsed during a U.S. tour the year before. His death marked the loss of reggae’s most influential voice and cultural icon.

May 11, 2006: Keith Richards is finally discharged from a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand following the so-called “coconut” incident, though he remains in the city as an outpatient. He is placed on a blood-thinning medication and given strict medical orders to avoid using cocaine completely.

May 11-14, 2010: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts are interviewed and perform in separate skits on U.S. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which also shows the Stones in Exile documentary for the first time. They took part in a Pros & Cons sketch to promote the 2010 release of the Exile on Main St. Deluxe Edition, playfully discussing the project in a humorous segment. The bit included jokes about Justin Bieber supposedly contributing to the album with Auto-Tune, along with a surprise cameo from Charlie Watts, who appears “very excited” in the skit. Mick Jagger also lightens the tone by jokingly suggesting the Exile tracks could be used for advertising, even referencing the KFC Double Down sandwich, making the whole appearance part promotional, part tongue-in-cheek self-parody. That day they also attend the premiere of Stones in Exile at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

May 11, 2011: Keith Richards appears on U.S. TV’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. This time Keith appeared in the show to promote his autobiography Life, stepping into the late-night spotlight with his trademark laid-back humor and candid storytelling. The interview mixes promotion with reflections on his long, unpredictable journey in music, as Keith talks through memories from his years with the band.

May 11, 2013: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Get Off Of My Cloud/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Paint It Black/Gimme Shelter/You Got Me Rocking/Beast Of Burden/Emotional Rescue/ All Down The Line/Doom And Gloom/One More Shot/Honky Tonk Women/Before They Make Me Run/Happy/Midnight Rambler/ Miss You/Start Me Up/Tumbling Dice/Brown Sugar/Sympathy For The Devil/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Satisfaction
*With special guests Katy Perry on Beast Of Burden and the Green Valley High School Choir on You Can’t Always Get What You Want

May 11, 2024: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (No Charlie)
Start Me Up/Get Off Of My Cloud/Let’s Spend The Night Together/Angry/Like A Rolling Stone/You Got Me Rocking/Mess It Up/Tumbling Dice/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Band introduction/You Got The Silver/Little T & A/Sympathy For The Devil/Honky Tonk Women/Miss You/Gimme Shelter/Paint It Black/Jumpin’ Jack Flash/Sweet Sounds Of Heaven/Satisfaction
All photos from the IORR site

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