Keith Richards about Ian Stewart:
“I left art school and I didn’t even bother to get a job. We were still kids. Mick was still serious, he thought he was, everyone told him he ought to be serious about a career in economics… But Brian, he was already working at it… He invited me to listen to what he was getting together in some pub in London. It’s then it starts getting into backrooms of pubs in Soho and places. That’s where I met him. He was with Brian. They’d just met. He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano like that before. Real Albert Ammons stuff. This is all ’62.”

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From medium.com:
Having been together for over 50 years and counting, The Rolling Stones remain a household name to this day. So entrenched are they in popular culture that even younger people or those who do not listen to their music, are still aware of the group and its members even if just by name.

Over the years, various members have come and gone. With longtime stalwarts Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “newer” addition Ronnie Wood, past members like Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman and the dearly departed Brian Jones and Charlie Watts, there was a favourite for every fan.

However, one name has often slipped the minds of even the most ardent Rolling Stones fan: Ian Stewart. Officially part of the band for just around a year, Stewart largely disappeared from the public eye in 1963.

If you ask any Stones fan who their favourite member of the group was, Stewart’s name would rarely come up, let alone be recognised. However, if you were to ask the band themselves who their favourite bandmate was, Stewart would be very high up on their lists.

So, who exactly is Ian Stewart and why was he so beloved by his fellow Rolling Stones? This article will explore the life of Ian Stewart, his contributions to the group and his legacy in order to understand why he is deserving of far greater recognition.

Ian Stewart was born in Scotland on the 18th of July 1938. Nicknamed Stu by family and friends, Stewart grew up in London where his family moved shortly after his birth. As a child, Stewart enjoyed playing music and learnt the piano. As he grew, he soon learnt the banjo as well.

Music was a hobby for Stu and he often enjoyed playing with friends and small groups in between studies and work. He had lived a conventional albeit quiet life until he spotted an advertisement in 1962.

Looking for potential members to join his rhythm and blues group, Brian Jones had listed the ad. Enticed by the prospect of playing the music he enjoyed with a like-minded group, Stewart applied for a position in the band. That band would soon be known as The Rolling Stones.