BRIAN JONES

 Jones eventually left Cheltenham completely and moved to [[London]] where he met and befriended fellow musicians [[Alexis Korner]], future [[Manfred Mann]] singer [[Paul Jones (singer) Paul Jones]], future [[Cream (band) Cream]] bassist [[Jack Bruce]] and others who made up the small London Rhythm n' Blues scene that the Rolling Stones soon dominated and spearheaded. He became a proficient blues musician, for a brief time christening himself "'''Elmo Lewis'''", and [[Bill Wyman]] claimed he was one of the first guitarists in the UK to play slide

In the spring of 1962, Jones recruited [[Ian Stewart (musician) Ian "Stu" Stewart]] and singer [[Mick Jagger]] into his band — who, with Jagger's childhood friend [[Keith Richards]], met Jones when he and [[Paul Jones (singer) Paul Jones]] were featured playing [[Elmore James]]' "''[[Dust My Broom]]''" with Korner's band at [[Ealing Jazz Club The Ealing Club]]. On his initiative, Jagger brought guitarist Richards with him to the rehearsals; Richards then joined the band. Jones's and Stewart's acceptance of Richards and the Chuck Berry songs he wanted to play coincided with the departure of blues purists Geoff Bradford and Brian Knight, who had no tolerance for [[Chuck Berry]]. As Keith Richards tells it, it was Jones who came up with the name "The Rollin' Stones" (later with the 'g') while on the phone with a venue owner. 

The voice on the other end of the line obviously said, 'What are you called?' Panic. 'The Best Of Muddy Waters' album was lying on the floor — and Track One was 'Rollin' Stone Blues. 

The Stones had their first gig on [[12 July]] [[1962]] in the [[Marquee Club]] in London with the following line-up: Jagger, Richards, Jones, Stewart, bass player [[Dick Taylor]] (later of [[The Pretty Things]]) and drummer [[Tony Chapman]].

Throughout much of 1962 and 1963 Jones, Jagger and Richards shared an apartment (referred to by Richards as "a beautiful dump"). ''According To The Rolling Stones.'' Chronicle Books, 2003.

 in [[Chelsea, London]] at 102 Edith Grove with James Phelge, a future photographer whose last name would later be used in some of the band's writing credits. While they lived there, Jones and Richards spent day after day playing guitar while listening to blues records (most notably [[Jimmy Reed]], [[Muddy Waters]] & [[Howlin' Wolf]]), and Jones showed Jagger how to play the harmonica properly.

The four Rollin' Stones then went searching for a steady bassist and drummer, and after several auditions and try-outs they settled on [[Bill Wyman]] on bass (mainly because he had two large [[VOX AC30]] 

 After having played with [[Mick Avory]] later of the [[Kinks]], Tony Chapman and Carlo Little for a few gigs, they chose jazz-influenced [[Charlie Watts]], considered by fellow musicians to be one of the best drummers of the London music scene, from the Alexis Korner group [[Blues, Inc.]] to play drums.

The group played at local blues and jazz clubs around London, eventually forming a solid fan base despite strong resistance from traditional jazz musicians who felt threatened by the Stones's popularity. While Mick Jagger was the lead singer, Jones, in the group's embryonic period, was the leader - promoting the band, getting them shows around London, and negotiating with venue owners. Jones would often act more as an entertainer in these early days, playing several instruments including vocals, rhythm guitar, slide guitar, and [[harmonica]].

During live performances around this time, and especially at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Jones was frequently a more animated and engaging performer than even Mick Jagger. Jagger initially stood still while singing - mainly by necessity, as there was hardly any room for him to move at all.


While acting as business manager, Jones arranged to have himself paid 5 [[pounds sterling]] more than the other members of the group, a practice which did not sit well with the rest of the band and created resentment against him.

The hard days on the road, the money and fame, and the feeling of being alienated from the group resulted in Jones' greater and greater indulgence in drugs and alcohol. He frequently used [[LSD]], [[cocaine]] and [[cannabis]], and was known to be a heavy drinker.

These indulgences did nothing positive for Jones's physical health (he suffered from asthma, and was never a very health-conscious individual). On several occasions he was in the hospital while the rest of the group was elsewhere, doubtlessly contributing to his paranoia and physically separating him from his bandmates.

Jones was arrested for drug use for the first time on [[10 May]] 1967, shortly after the Redlands incident at Richards' Sussex home. Authorities found [[marijuana]], [[cocaine]], and [[methamphetamine]] in Jones's possession. He confessed to marijuana use but claimed he did not use hard drugs. Like the arrests of his bandmates, protesters appeared outside the court demanding that Jones be freed, and he was not kept in jail for long. He was fined, given probation, and ordered to see a counselor. 

In June 1967, Jones attended the [[Monterey Pop Festival]]. He attended the festival with singer [[Nico]], with whom he had a brief romantic relationship. Here he met [[Frank Zappa]] and [[Dennis Hopper]], and went on stage to introduce the [[Jimi Hendrix Experience]]. One review referred to Jones as "the unofficial 'king' of the festival."

Jagger and Richards grew increasingly hostile towards Jones, who became alienated from the rest of the group. Although by many accounts Jones was often a friendly and outgoing person, other band members — including Bill Wyman — commented that Jones could often be cruel and extremely difficult to get along with. By most accounts, Jones's attitude changed frequently, one minute being caring and generous, the next making an effort to anger everyone.

As bandmate Wyman observed in his book ''Stone Alone'', 

{{cquote|There were two Brians…one was introverted, shy, sensitive, deep-thinking…the other was a preening peacock, gregarious, artistic, desperately needing assurance from his peers…he pushed every friendship to the limit and way beyond.}}

Tensions grew between Jagger, Richards, and Jones, and his heavy drug use and drinking did not help matters. His contributions with the Rolling Stones would become more sporadic even as he began some projects outside the group. Keith Richards began to play more lead 

 Jones, bored with the instrument, would usually find something exotic to play, though he was frequently absent from recording sessions. Jones's gradual decline in contributions started around 1967 and continued until May 1968, when he recorded his last substantial contributions to Stones songs. Clips of Jones in the 1967 promotional film for "We Love You" show him slumped and barely able to keep his eyes open, most likely due to the effects of Mandrax ([[quaalude]]), a popular recreational drug on the scene at the time. However, Jones maintained close relationships with many others outside of the Stones camp, including [[Jim Morrison]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[John Lennon]], [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[George Harrison]], and [[Steve Marriott]]. 

Life continued to get more difficult for Jones. In March 1967, Jones's girlfriend [[Anita Pallenberg]] ran off with Richards while Jones was in hospital, severely damaging Jones and Richards's friendship. Pallenberg later claimed that Jones was hospitalized after a fight the two had during which Jones hit her and broke his wrist; although as Richards remembers it, Brian simply "fell ill.

Richards later made the following remarks about the incident:

{{cquote|That was the final nail in the coffin with me and Brian. He'd never forgive me for that and I don't blame him, but, hell, shit happens.''


Jones's last substantial sessions with the Stones were in the spring and summer of 1968, when the Stones produced the classic "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the [[Beggars Banquet]] album. A relaxed Jones can be seen in the [[Jean-Luc Godard]] film ''[[One Plus One]],, chatting and sharing cigarettes with Richards, although Jones is generally neglected in the music making process. The film chronicles the making of the song "Sympathy for the Devil." While he played an acoustic guitar for the backing track, it is not included in the final version, though occasionally audible in the film through the microphones of the film crew. 

At this time, it was becoming clear that Jones was not long for the group. Whereas before he would normally play multiple instruments on nearly every track, he was no longer a ubiquitous presence on the album, only appearing on about half of the tracks. He plays acoustic slide guitar on "No Expectations," harmonica on "Dear Doctor" and "Prodigal Son," tamboura on "Street Fighting Man", and mellotron on the fade-out of "Stray Cat Blues."

Jones's last formal appearance with the Stones was in the December [[1968]] ''[[The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus]],'' a part-concert, part-circus act film organized by the band. It went unreleased for 25 years due to Mick Jagger being unhappy with the band's performance as compared to other bands in the film, such as [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]], [[The Who]], and [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]]. In the film Jones appears uninterested and at times intoxicated. While introducing concert pianist [[Julius Katchen]], his speech was slurred and inarticulate. During the Stones set he appears distant from the group and his playing is inaudible except for a shaky rendition of "No Expectations." Extra material on the DVD release of the film indicates that almost everyone at the concert knew that the end of Jones's time with the Stones was near, and [[Pete Townshend]] of [[The Who]] even states that he thought it would be Jones's last musical live performance.

In 1966 Jones produced, played on, and wrote the soundtrack for the film ''"Mord und Totschlag"'' (aka "A Degree Of Murder"), an avant-garde German film with his then-girlfriend [[Anita Pallenberg]]. He hired various musicians to play on the soundtrack, among them guitarist [[Jimmy Page]]. Jones and Pallenberg attracted controversy during the making of the film when Jones posed in a [[Nazi]] uniform while standing on a naked doll for a photograph, along with Pallenberg. Although Jones was by no means sympathetic to the Nazis, many were offended by the photographs.

Jones played percussion on an unreleased Jimi Hendrix version of Bob Dylan's "[[All Along the Watchtower]]" together with a handful of unreleased jams with Hendrix and [[Dave Mason]] of [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]] in early [[1968]], in addition to playing the [[alto]] saxophone on a Beatles song, "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) and "[[Yellow Submarine (song)|Yellow Submarine]]", in which he hit two pieces of glass together.

 In the summer of 1968, Jones recorded the [[Morocco]]-based ensemble, the [[Master Musicians of Jajouka]]. In [[1971]], ''[[Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka]]'' [sic], was posthumously released; it remains a [[World Music]] landmark. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first traveled to [[Jajouka]] in [[1989]] after recording the track "Continental Drift" for the Stones album ''[[Steel Wheels]]'' with the [[Master Musicians of Jajouka featuring Bachir Attar]] in Tangier. [[Bachir Attar]], son of the leader of the Jajouka musicians that Brian Jones had recorded had coincidentally written to the Rolling Stones at that time, and Jagger, Richards, Ron Wood, and Matt Clifford (who was working on the album with them) flew off to meet him and the Jajouka musicians. This encounter is documented in a rarely seen BBC television film called "Rolling Stones in Morocco", later released on cassette.

Jones was arrested a second time on [[21 May]] 1968, this time for marijuana possession. Jones claimed the marijuana was left behind by previous owners of his home, but he was facing a long jail sentence if found guilty, due to his probation. Bill Wyman commented "The fact that the police had secured a warrant with no evidence showed the arrest was part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Brian and the Stones were being targeted in an effort to deter the public from taking drugs." The jury found him guilty, yet the judge had sympathy for Jones. Instead of fining and warning him, the judge said, "For goodness sake, don't get into trouble again or it really ''will'' be serious." The prosecution's case was very weak, relying on testimony of police who were later found to be corrupt {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. (The same corrupt officers who harassed Jones would go on to harass Beatle [[John Lennon]] in 1969. (Beatles' Anthology)

Brian's continuing legal troubles, estrangement from his bandmates, substance abuse, sporadic contributions, and mood swings finally became too much for the Rolling Stones. The Stones wanted to tour the United States in 1969 for the first time in three years, but Jones's second arrest exacerbated problems with US immigration. 

In addition, the Stones's music was heavily based on the two weaving guitars. Brian's penchant for exotic instrumentation worked to complement Richards 'guitar';  return true; work; however, at this time Brian would rarely come into the studio, and if he did he would frequently contribute nothing musically or his guitar would be switched off by his bandmates, leaving Richards playing nearly all the guitars. According to Gary Herman, he was "literally incapable of making music; when he tried to play harmonica, his mouth started bleeding".

This behavior began to wreak havoc during the ''Beggar's Banquet'' sessions but had fully flourished by the time the band commenced recording of ''Let It Bleed''. While the band was recording "You Can't Always Get What You Want", Jones meekly asked an agitated Jagger, "What can I play?". Jagger's terse response was "I don't know, Brian, what ''can'' you play?". From this point forward he made himself scarce, rarely attending sessions. [[Ry Cooder]] (fielded as a possible replacement) observed that the guitarist even retreated into a corner and cried on the rare occasions when he did show up. By May, he had made only two contributions to the work in progress: an [[autoharp]] part on "You Got the Silver" and extra percussion (two large tribal drums played with beaters) on the epic "Midnight Rambler". Jones was duly informed by Jagger that he would be dismissed from the band if he did not appear at a photo shoot for the compilation album ''[[Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)|Through The Past Darkly]]''. Looking extremely frail, he nonetheless showed.

The Stones decided that following the release of the ''Let it Bleed'' album (scheduled for a July 1969 release) they would do a tour of North America starting November 1969, a first in three years time. However, the Stones management was informed that Jones would not receive a working permit for the U.S. due to his drug convictions. At the suggestion of pianist and road manager for the tour [[Ian Stewart (musician) Ian Stewart]], the Stones decided the best option would be to add a new guitarist, and on [[8 June]] [[1969]], Jones was visited by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts and was told the group he formed would continue without him.

To the public, it appeared as if Jones had suddenly left; the others told him that although he was being asked to leave, they stressed that it was his choice how to break it to the public. Jones released a statement on [[9 June]] announcing his departure from the group. In the public statement he said, among other things, that 

I no longer see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs we are cutting.}}

Ironically this would come just as the Stones were returning to their blues roots, which Jones had always emphasized. Jones was replaced by 20-year-old guitarist [[Mick Taylor]] (formerly of [[John Mayall's Bluesbreakers]]), who started sessions with the Stones right away. 

At this point Jones mostly stayed at Cotchford Farm, with intentions to form another band. He did visit Olympic studios the next week to discuss the future with his former bandmates, with Bill Wyman noting that he was "excited about his own plans". He is known to have contacted [[Ian Stewart]], [[Mitch Mitchell]], [[Alexis Korner]] and [[Jimmy Miller (producer) Jimmy Miller]]. He toyed with the idea of joining Korner's New Church band, but Korner instead suggested Jones form his own band. Miller occasionally brought his family over, and Jones had invited him to do so again in early July.

There is uncertainty as to the mental and physical state Jones was in at this time. The last known photographs taken of Jones, taken in June 1969 shortly after his departure from the Stones, are not flattering. Jones appears bloated with deep-set eyes, although people who visited Jones (particularly Alexis Korner) were surprised by Jones' state in late June. Korner noted that Jones was "happier than he had ever been" at this time, and supposedly Jimmy Miller was surprised to find Jones in such good spirits. 

At around midnight on [[3 July]] [[1969]], Brian Jones was discovered motionless at the bottom of his  swimming pool at his home in [[Hartfield]], [[Sussex]], [[England]], where he had been for only a matter of minutes. His girlfriend [[Anna Wohlin]] is convinced he was still alive when they took him out; insisting that he still had a pulse. However when the doctors arrived, it was too late for Brian and he was pronounced dead on the scene. The [[coroner]]'s report stated "Death by misadventure", and noted that his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Some felt it was suicide, however, blaming Jagger and Richards for his state of mental depression.

However, Anna Wohlin claimed in 1999 that he had been murdered by a builder who had been staying with them renovating the house the couple shared. The builder, Frank Thorogood, allegedly confessed to the murder on his deathbed to the Rolling Stones's driver, [[Tom Keylock]]; however, it should be noted that there were no other witnesses to this confession. In her book ("The Murder Of Brian Jones") she alleges that Frank Thorogood behaved suspiciously and showed little sympathy when Jones was discovered in the pool (he was also the last one to see Brian alive), but she admits that she was not actually present at the time of Jones's death. Witnesses have been interviewed by various journalists who claim to have seen the 'murder'; however, these witnesses almost always use pseudonyms, and none of them have been willing to go on record or report what they claim to have seen to the police.

Many items, such as instruments and expensive furniture, were stolen from the home after Jones's death, most likely by Thorogood, driver Tom Keylock, and others who worked on the property. Rumors also exist that demo recordings made by Jones for his future projects were stolen as well, but to date nothing has ever surfaced. Several of the instruments stolen from Jones's house have later turned up on the collectors market. 

When asked by a newspaper reporter his reaction to Jones's death, [[George Harrison]] responded, "When I met him I liked him quite a lot. He was a good fellow you know. I got to know him very well, I think, and I felt very close to him; you know how it is with some people, you feel for them, feel near to them. He was born on [[28 February]] [[1942]], and I was born on [[25 February]] [[1943]], and he was with Mick and Keith, and I was with John and Paul in the groups, so there was a sort of understanding between the two of us. The positions were similar, and I often seemed to meet him in his times of trouble. There was nothing the matter with him that a little extra love wouldn't have cured. I don't think he had enough love or understanding. He was very nice and sincere and sensitive, and we must remember that's what he was."

The Rolling Stones performed a free concert in Hyde Park on [[5 July]] [[1969]], two days after his death. The concert had been scheduled weeks earlier as an opportunity to present the new guitarist. However, critics accused the band of being callous and uncaring about their former bandmate. In response to this criticism, the band dedicated the concert to Jones. Before the concert began, Jagger read excepts from "[[Adonais]]", a poem by [[Percy Shelley]] about the death of his friend [[John Keats]]. Their manager had come up with a plan to release thousands of white moths at the Hyde Park concert but, due to the extreme heat, most of the moths had already died in their boxes; the surviving moths barely made it into the air before dying and falling on the heads of concertgoers. The Stones opened with a [[Johnny Winter]] song that was one of Brian's favorites, "I'm Yours And I'm Hers".

Jones was reportedly buried 12 feet deep (to prevent exhumation by ghoulish trophy hunters) in (reportedly) a lavish silver and bronze casket (as the casket was lowered manually by two people it is unlikely the casket was solid bronze) sent for his funeral in Cheltenham by friend [[Bob Dylan]]. The Stones asked fans to stay away, and of the group only Watts and Wyman attended. [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Marianne Faithfull]] did not attend as they were traveling to Australia to begin filming a movie and claimed the film's producers prohibited their attendance, upon threat of having their contract severed. [[Keith Richards]] and [[Anita Pallenberg]] did not attend, afraid their presence would raise an uproar by the present fans.

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