I was reading this article about Ronnie Woods new greatest hits cd, and it says "The Stones, which Wood joined in 1975 for a $100,000 salary, are currently touring Europe. They return to North America in September. In his early years with the Stones, Wood usually co-wrote one or two tracks on each album, but principals Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have not sought his input since 1986’s “Dirty Work.”
I always thought that he was “a part” of the stones, but this makes it sound like he’s not much more than a sideman. He’s pictured in most of the advertising for the bad (that I’ve noticed), so is he a “full fledged” memeber or not?
My uneducated guess is he’s like Ringo Starr was in the Beatles. He’s an accomplished musician whose playing is of such unparalleled quality, that he really doen’t need to contribute much more than that. And yeah, I’d say he’s a full-fledged member. He’s been a featured member for over 30 years. Their bass player, Darryl Jones, even after replacing Bill Wyman, isn’t considered a fifth member in the mainstream press.
Jagger/Richards have pretty much always kept the songwriting credits all to themselves. So if you’re judging them by that standard, then Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor were all just sidemen. I think the big “full fledged” part is that he now gets a percentage of the revenues (except composers’ royalties, as Mick and Keith dominate) rather than a straight pittance. I think Willie Weeks is the new Ron Wood in the Stones’ heirarchy.
Well, I assume Ron Wood is a full-fledged member of the band, but I’ve been wrong before.
Example: after Michael Pinder left the Moody Blues, he was replaced by Patrick Moraz, who toured and recorded with them for over a decade. Yet, when Moraz had a falling out with the band, the rest of the Moodies argued in court that he was NOT really a member of the band, just a hired side musician.
I don’t recall how the case was decided, but as a fan, I’d always assumed Moraz was an official member of the band! That didn’t stop the others from claiming otherwise, when money was involved.
If Wood ever left the Stones, I wonder if a similar court battle would result.
