# The Rolling Stones Turn 60 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 11, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744 "2022-07-11T04:06:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/1 "2022-07-11T04:06:05Z")
This Tuesday, July 12, will mark 60 years since the Rolling Stones’ first performance, in London’s Marquee Club. I saw them in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on November 1, 1981 – ZZ Top and the Fabulous Thunderbirds were the opening acts. BBC story [here](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bbc-rolling-stones-specials-1330470/). ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/2 "2022-07-11T10:17:21Z")
Unless the Rolling Stones was assembled on the day of their first public performance, they are older than 60. _pushes unfashionable glasses up towards a zitty forehead while making funny noises_ ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/3 "2022-07-11T11:01:20Z")
Although the Rolling Stones have never been my favorite band, they have provided me with a wealth of enjoyable music since they first came on my radar in the mid 60’s with _Satisfaction_ (I wore that track out on my _Out of Our Heads_ album). The Stones have always been perceived as the _bad-boy_ version of the Beatles and that perception served them well. IMHO the Rolling Stones are the consummate rock & roll band and Mick Jagger is the consummate rock & roll front-man. For me, when the Stones finally disband, that will be _the day_ [rock & roll] _music dies._ Mick Jagger has always been honest: _“Of course we’re doing it for the money. We’ve always done it for the money.”_ — Mick Jagger And ironic: _“I’d rather be dead than singing ‘Satisfaction’ when I’m forty-five.”_ — Mick Jagger ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/4 "2022-07-11T11:15:35Z")
I remember seeing them on the Voodoo Lounge tour and thinking that it could be their last. That was almost 30 years ago! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/5 "2022-07-11T11:18:07Z")
Which band has done more final tours? The Who or The Stones? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/6 "2022-07-11T11:52:22Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I remember seeing them on the Voodoo Lounge tour and thinking that it could be their last. That was almost 30 years ago! And folks were making “Steel Wheelchair” jokes about them five years before that. And general “old” jokes long before _that_. Mick and Keith are fourteen years older than I am. So the way I choose to look at it, as long as they’re still going, I claim to have at least fourteen years ahead of me during which I’m not too old to crank up the rock ‘n’ roll. Carry on, boys. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/7 "2022-07-11T12:14:31Z")
Just yesterday, I was commenting to my husband about how they’re close to 60 years in the spotlight - I was just making a guess as I never followed them that closely, but now I feel pschic! 😁 It is strange seeing that the performers of my youth are all geezers! Or dead… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/8 "2022-07-11T12:39:18Z")
And they haven’t done anything that interested me in 44 years. They really, really should have said “farewell” a long time ago. The idea that they went back to touring so soon after Charlie died is sad. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/9 "2022-07-11T12:51:45Z")
I thought I remembered reading a quotation, a few years ago, from Keith where he said something to the effect that if anything happened to Charlie, the band would pack it in. Not sure now, but it might have been around the time when the story broke about Charlie having throat cancer. More recently, I spent a few minutes trying to dig it up, but I can’t figure out a Google search that finds it. Maybe it was just the article writer’s conjecture and I was misremembering. Or maybe my fevered brain was just fabricating it altogether. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/10 "2022-07-11T13:46:34Z")
Pete Townshend refers to Roger Daltrey and himself as a Who tribute band. Their farewell tour was decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/11 "2022-07-11T13:58:43Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > I thought I remembered reading a quotation, a few years ago, from Keith where he said something to the effect that if anything happened to Charlie, the band would pack it in. You see this around, but I don’t know its origin - I don’t recall it from _Life_. > **Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is on record saying “There couldn’t be Rolling Stones without Charlie Watts.”** [https://www.noise11.com/news/does-the-death-of-charlie-watts-mean-the-end-of-the-rolling-stones-20210825](https://www.noise11.com/news/does-the-death-of-charlie-watts-mean-the-end-of-the-rolling-stones-20210825) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/12 "2022-07-11T14:01:16Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > It is strange seeing that the performers of my youth are all geezers! Or dead… But you get to wear [this t-shirt](https://printerval.com/funny-i-may-be-old-but-i-got-to-see-all-the-cool-bands-gifts-t-shirt-p408914?spid=56327599&tr=&adgroupid=&campaignid=17446229893&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlK-WBhDjARIsAO2sErS2L9gxqWGb6UfKs8lpPBpviqwohdUW6Co_OX2VF4yoLDmBCPjlUagaAnHzEALw_wcB). Or [this one](https://6dollarshirts.com/same-age-as-old-people?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlK-WBhDjARIsAO2sErR_GeXmC3qxgw_cmp_eiTGFRc-pvG652K3NbJz8h_gkmnDEVUSx7FoaAvZmEALw_wcB). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/13 "2022-07-11T14:11:01Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > And folks were making “Steel Wheelchair” jokes about them five years before that. And general “old” jokes long before _that_. Yeah, who would have thought the Rolling Stones would outlive all the jokes about them being too old to rock and roll? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/14 "2022-07-11T14:15:25Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > I thought I remembered reading a quotation, a few years ago, from Keith where he said something to the effect that if anything happened to Charlie, the band would pack it in. > > You see this around, but I don’t know its origin - I don’t recall it from _Life_. > > > **Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is on record saying “There couldn’t be Rolling Stones without Charlie Watts.”** > > [https://www.noise11.com/news/does-the-death-of-charlie-watts-mean-the-end-of-the-rolling-stones-20210825](https://www.noise11.com/news/does-the-death-of-charlie-watts-mean-the-end-of-the-rolling-stones-20210825) I thought I remembered it as being something closer to what I paraphrased, but that might just be the quote. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/15 "2022-07-11T15:43:16Z")
> [@peedin](#): > > Their farewell tour was decades ago. Until the next one… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/16 "2022-07-11T15:56:57Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I saw them in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on November 1, 1981 – ZZ Top and the Fabulous Thunderbirds were the opening acts. Ha! We were at the Cotton Bowl concert the night before. It was really, really, really wet, but a terrific show. [![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/sndb/uploads/photo/image/340540/large_20201027_220917.jpg) ](https://s3.amazonaws.com/sndb/uploads/photo/image/340540/large_20201027_220917.jpg) We’ve seen them twice since, both kind of meh. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/17 "2022-07-11T16:50:59Z")
The year is 2257. The place - Babylon 5. The event - Rolling Stones Farewell Concert [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/tEyjQ5L.jpeg "In "Signs and Portents" there is a calendar with "ROLLING STONES FAREWELL...") ](https://imgur.com/tEyjQ5L) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/18 "2022-07-11T17:59:33Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > And they haven’t done anything that interested me in 44 years. I wonder, if The Beatles hadn’t broken up, would they suck as much as the Stones\*? 🙂 (Similar: If James Dean hadn’t died young, would he have turned into another pathetic Fat Brando?) \* Hey! No Wings jokes! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/19 "2022-07-11T19:00:54Z")
I saw them last year for the first time. I didn’t have any expectations except “I want to see these guys while I still can”, but they blew the roof off the place. It was a surprisingly great show. Unfortunately, between buying a ticket and seeing the show, Charlie Watts retired, and then died. ☹ But they had a good tribute to him at the concert. I think I was at the first ever Rolling Stones show without Charlie. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744/20 "2022-07-11T20:03:50Z")
My Mom grew up in England and they used to have bands come relatively near them and the prices were surprisingly inexpensive. My Mom was able to see quite a few bands. She saw the Rolling Stones fairly early in their careers. As a kid, I remember asking my Mom, “Wow, did you see the Beatles?” My mom said, “No, they came to town but I didn’t want to see them. I think they were as good.” Now I look back, I realize I had a chance to see both Nirvana and Alice in Chains in my life and missed out both. Chains continued now, of course, but without Layne Staley. I wish I’d seen both. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rolling-stones-turn-60/967744.md?page=2)