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Informationen zum Autor Dana Meachen Rau; Illustrated by Andrew Thomson Klappentext Follow the bad boys of rock and roll from their beginnings in London to their unparalleled success around the world. Starting out over fifty years ago, the Rolling Stones took the music of the blues and blended it into rock and roll to create their own unique sound. Decades later, they are still hard at work, recording and playing live to massive crowds of adoring fans. Who Are the Rolling Stones? captures the excitement of the Stones on their journey to become the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world. Who Are the Rolling Stones? In October of 1961, eighteen-year-old Mick Jagger was on his way to class at the London School of Economics. Music was often on his mind. This day was no different. He had a few records under his arm to show his friends at college. Even though Mick lived in England, he listened to American music. He liked the blues—an old type of music that often had a slow beat and sad lyrics. He also liked rock and roll, a very new type with a faster beat and lots of energy. On the Dartford station platform, Mick noticed another teenager. It was his old friend Keith Richards from grade school. Mick noticed that Keith was carrying a guitar case. Keith saw the records that Mick was holding. They started talking. Keith loved American music, too! Mick was a singer. Keith was a guitar player. Following their meeting that day—and their early friendships with Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts—a powerful rock-and-roll band was born. The Rolling Stones blended blues and rock and roll into a unique sound. They soon became famous in their home country of England. Teenagers in America became fans, too. Eventually, the Rolling Stones became the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world. They have been together for more than fifty years—longer than any other band in history. Since Mick and Keith met on the train platform in 1961, a lot has changed. But through it all, the band has always worked hard to do what they love best—play music. And all their hard work has paid off. When people think of rock and roll, they think of the Rolling Stones. Chapter 1: Starting Out Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were both born in 1943 in the town of Dartford, England. The country was in the middle of fighting World War II at the time. And Dartford had been the site of many bombings during the war. The fighting ended in 1945. But throughout their childhoods, Keith and Mick’s neighborhood was still piled with crumbled pieces of bombed buildings. Keith and Mick lived in the same neighborhood and went to elementary school together. But they were not close friends. Mick was outgoing, and Keith was quiet. Mick was a good student. Keith hated school. When their families moved to opposite ends of Dartford, the boys didn’t keep in touch. As they grew older, they each developed a love of music. When Mick was fourteen, he got his first guitar. He spent a lot of time listening to music on the radio. In the mid-1950s, most people still listened to the same type of music their parents had before the war. But Mick tuned the dial to faraway stations in Luxembourg and Germany that broadcast American music. Then Mick got a record player. Shops in England didn’t always carry the music he wanted. So he ordered music directly from the United States. His records came mainly from Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. Chess was a recording studio that worked with Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and other American musicians that Mick liked. On the other side of Dartford, Keith was greatly influenced by his musical family—especially by his grandfather, who had been a bandleader and had played guitar. Keith got his first guitar as a present for his fifteenth birthday. He, too...
