British musical group. Its original members were Mick Jagger (b. 1943), Keith Richards (b. 1943), Brian Jones (1944–69), Bill Wyman (b. 1936), and Charlie Watts (b. 1941). The band was formed in 1962 when Jagger, Richards, and Jones, who had been performing sporadically in a blues band, recruited Wyman and formed their own group. Watts joined the band in 1963.
Jagger was the lead vocalist, while Jones and Richards played guitars, Wyman played bass, and Watts played drums. The band's name was adopted from a Muddy Waters song. By 1966 a series of outstanding songs had made the band second in popularity only to the Beatles. Jagger and Richards wrote most of its songs, which are marked by a driving backbeat, biting and satirical lyrics, and simple but expressive instrumental accompaniments. The group reached the height of its popularity with albums such as Beggar's Banquet (1968) and Exile on Main Street (1972). Jones was succeeded by Mick Taylor (b. 1948) in 1969, who was replaced in turn by Ron Wood (b. 1947) in 1976. They continued to perform long after the other classic rock bands of the 1960s disbanded.
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