How did the Stones survive the '70s?

[Vincent Vega]

It's been said here by a few people, for example, that most of the bands of 1967 broke up by the mid '70s, and certainly even earlier bands like the Beatles broke up just at the dawn of the 1970s, or other bands like Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

I just find the Stones continued relevance and massive success into the 1970s and 1980s amazing, because they somehow survived the early-mid 70s disappearance and deaths if you will of artists like Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison and the break ups of bands like the Beatles and the fading away of other bands. They survived the early 1970s rise of Glam like Bowie, T-Rex and Mott the Hoople, soft rock like Elton, shock rock acts like Alice Cooper; Anyone of these could've stolen the Stones' thunder in terms of raw rock spirit or showmanship, but yet the Stones still triumphed.

I mean even in the face of challenges by new, big and awesome contenders like Black Sabbath (debuted in 1968), Led Zeppelin (debuted in 1969, was a massive force until 1977), Aerosmith (debuted in 1973 and became huge by 1976), and others, and even in the face of stuff like Disco and the aggression of Punk, they somehow survived the massive changes which the 1970s brought musically and remained just as relevant in 1977 as they were in 1967.

Edited January 31, 2011 by Indigo Child

[moreblack]

Sad to say, to survive Disco, they became Disco.

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

or other bands like Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

No.

Syd went bananas, enter: Roger Waters era. I doubt he was trying to "remain relevant" he just continued in the direction he always wanted to go in.

Brian Jones didn't survive.

On topic: To me, they really didn't I don't bother with the absolute majority of 70s stuff from the stones

EDIT: Emotional Rescue is still a pretty good tune though

Edited January 31, 2011 by Jumpin' Jack Flash

[Vincent Vega]

or other bands like Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

No.

Syd went bananas, enter: Roger Waters era. I doubt he was trying to "remain relevant" he just continued in the direction he always wanted to go in.

Brian Jones didn't survive.

On topic: To me, they really didn't I don't bother with the absolute majority of 70s stuff from the stones

EDIT: Emotional Rescue is still a pretty good tune though

What about the early '70s albums--Sticky Fingers to Goat's Head Soup?

[JAC185]

What about the early '70s albums--Sticky Fingers to Goat's Head Soup?

This! Sticky Fingers and Exile are my favourite Stones records and if I recall they are 1971/1972. Madness.

Also, regarding part of the first post, it's fairly obvious as to why the Stones would survive the death of Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin etc better than say, The Doors, Hendrix and Janis Joplin would.

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

or other bands like Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

No.

Syd went bananas, enter: Roger Waters era. I doubt he was trying to "remain relevant" he just continued in the direction he always wanted to go in.

Brian Jones didn't survive.

On topic: To me, they really didn't I don't bother with the absolute majority of 70s stuff from the stones

EDIT: Emotional Rescue is still a pretty good tune though

What about the early '70s albums--Sticky Fingers to Goat's Head Soup?

Sticky Fingers and Exile are alright records, but they're not as good as Let it Bleed or Beggars imo at least. Goats Head Soup is pretty bleh.

[wasted]

Because they knew it was only rock n roll.

[GivenToFly]

^ This. As always, Wasted gets it.

What do you mean, survived? That they didn't break up, or that they stayed successful?

Staying relatively successful wasn't hard I guess, for a big band. Even when trends change, you still keep a fanbase, as long as your good. You go through a rough patch, true, where you're not on top of the world anymore, but you can still tour, you can still sell. You're just not in the charts anymore. And after a while, say 15 years, your legend just keeps growing and you become a touring monster. Any band left from the 70s and 60s sells tickets. More or less, but either way enough to at least break even and not starve. Even 80s folks still have a following.

More importantly, the band needs to stay alive as an entity. A lot of bands broke up because people just became bored of each other and because their scene was dying (or the members themselves). Here the extremely vilified Mick/Keith dictatorship and pragmatism did wonders. They compromised with each other well and the others took orders. And the band played on.

As long as it's all about the music and the business, and you don't get stuck in the whats-in bullshit, do you what you know and you'll be ok.

Also this, obviously:

Also, regarding part of the first post, it's fairly obvious as to why the Stones would survive the death of Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin etc better than say, The Doors, Hendrix and Janis Joplin would.

As always, Miser, you're to hung up on labeling and categorizing things. Doesn't even occur to you, seems so, that this band had its own identity and influenced its own destiny, without having to be involved in and dependent on some kind of movement to survive.

[Zint]

Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

Sorry to sidetrack but,Pink Floyd,as always,were entirely on their own page in the 70's.

[moreblack]

Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

Sorry to sidetrack but,Pink Floyd,as always,were entirely on their own page in the 70's.

their own page?

They were on a completely different book.

[Zint]

Sad to say, to survive Disco, they became Disco.

In actuality,no.

The Stones' 1978 tour was filling football stadiums.

The album prior to the release of Emotional Rescue (Some Girls) was a massive hit.

Rock fans hated disco,the Stones had nothing to worry about in that regard.

What the Stones tend to do is,dabble in various flavours of music...

Shattered (Punk),Emotional Rescue (Disco..I guess),as well as Country,Soul,Blues,R+B,50's Rock,Reggae,Motown etc.

Perhaps just to prove they can.

Diversity..

[moreblack]

Sad to say, to survive Disco, they became Disco.

In actuality,no.

The Stones' 1978 tour was filling football stadiums.

that's right around the time of their other big disco hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOf0FsA0Fio

[Zint]

that's right around the time of their other big disco hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOf0FsA0Fio

Shall we go song by song on that album?

We can start here if you like:

[moreblack]

Shall we go song by song on that album?

We can start here if you like:

I'd like to start with the one I posted. Was a big single for them after all.

And it let bands like Queen know that it was ok to do this:

Edited February 1, 2011 by moreblack

[Zint]

Shall we go song by song on that album?

We can start here if you like:

I'd like to start with the one I posted. Was a big single for them after all.

my turn..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZaqlLrSW3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTtrklkSqGY&feature=related

Edited February 1, 2011 by zint61

[moreblack]

man, the disco crowd woulda been kinda bummed by the rest of the album...

[Zint]

man, the disco crowd woulda been kinda bummed by the rest of the album...

Exactly

The Stones didn't "become" Disco.

[moreblack]

man, the disco crowd woulda been kinda bummed by the rest of the album...

Exactly

The Stones didn't "become" Disco.

lol, I guess they did a bit of other stuff too.

Still, they started a movement that saw a terrifying number of established rock acts releasing Disco singles.

[Zint]

Still, they started a movement that saw a terrifying number of established rock acts releasing Disco singles.

Alice Cooper...two years before Miss You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipCIqufRYpw

[dalsh327]

It's been said here by a few people, for example, that most of the bands of 1967 broke up by the mid '70s, and certainly even earlier bands like the Beatles broke up just at the dawn of the 1970s, or other bands like Pink Floyd radically changed their sound in the '70s to remain relevant.

I just find the Stones continued relevance and massive success into the 1970s and 1980s amazing, because they somehow survived the early-mid 70s disappearance and deaths if you will of artists like Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison and the break ups of bands like the Beatles and the fading away of other bands. They survived the early 1970s rise of Glam like Bowie, T-Rex and Mott the Hoople, soft rock like Elton, shock rock acts like Alice Cooper; Anyone of these could've stolen the Stones' thunder in terms of raw rock spirit or showmanship, but yet the Stones still triumphed.

I mean even in the face of challenges by new, big and awesome contenders like Black Sabbath (debuted in 1968), Led Zeppelin (debuted in 1969, was a massive force until 1977), Aerosmith (debuted in 1973 and became huge by 1976), and others, and even in the face of stuff like Disco and the aggression of Punk, they somehow survived the massive changes which the 1970s brought musically and remained just as relevant in 1977 as they were in 1967.

They became "sellouts" by taking on corporate sponsorship for the "Tattoo You" tour (no bands had done such a thing before then), they had new management, they became the biggest "must see" live act, and after Woodstock, the Stones and The Who took concert going to a bigger level. Mick had always been into fashion and they started doing props on stage. They incorporated what was going on at the time in music, although punk rock had a bullseye painted on Mick's head... not that he cared, he said a lot of dismissive shit about punk in the 70s.

But what the Stones also did, was bring out a lot of killer opening acts... some of which went over well like GNR and Van Halen, Ike and Tina, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz... and then there was Prince. The bootlegs are out there, but people were more disinterested than booing him.

But most people would say that Ron Wood was the turning point in their music, and you have a lot of divided opinions on what he's brought to the band.

The Stones have proven they can own any stage, big and small, and still be a great band. They were getting rave reviews for the theater shows a couple of tours ago. They don't need the spectacle, but they bring it because they want to put something memorable on.

They also rely on current producers. Jagger still goes to nightclubs and hears what's going on in music.

There's something about The Animals, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and Them that people love. Aerosmith cashed in on places the Stones were getting too big to play, and were road dogs through the 70s.

There's enough official and unofficial bios talking about the band out there that gives a pretty good picture on the history of the band. You also have the Stones' official book, and Wyman put his own coffeetable book about his time in the band. Andrew Loog Oldham wrote 2 books on his time with them.

[Zint]

The only thing the Stones had to "survive" in the 70's was their own mortality.

They were rock gods.

EVERY Stones tour was a must see tour,every tour sold out.

The Stones didn't need Woodtsock to revive a sagging career or to invent a new one,they didn't really care about it.

They threw their own free gig in '69...look how many people showed up,to see them.

Their '69 tour set a whole new standard for rock tours,lighting,staging,proper arena sound systems.

They set the standard followed for years with arena tours.

All the Stones had to do to survive any trend in music was be the Stones.

Go watch "Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones"...they didn't have to survive shit,they had the 70's by the nuts.

[moreblack]

Still, they started a movement that saw a terrifying number of established rock acts releasing Disco singles.

Alice Cooper...two years before Miss You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipCIqufRYpw

not exactly a trend setting hit single though. More of a footnote on a forgettable album.

[AbominableHoman]

that's right around the time of their other big disco hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOf0FsA0Fio

They should have made more music like that. Just a few more.

[Zint]

Still, they started a movement that saw a terrifying number of established rock acts releasing Disco singles.

Alice Cooper...two years before Miss You.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipCIqufRYpw

not exactly a trend setting hit single though. More of a footnote on a forgettable album.

Maybe not a hit single,but every bit the hit in the disco clubs.

I think rock fans were more pissed off with You Gotta Dance than Miss You.

I remember a friend saying to me at the time; "if Smokey Robinson and the Miracles had released Miss You in '63,it would be heralded as a classic Motown track".

When you think about it..it's true.

Miss You struck a chord as having a cool funk about it,to many.You Gotta Dance was just a wank.

[moreblack]

Miss You struck a chord as having a cool funk about it,to many.You Gotta Dance was just a wank.

Which is funny because YGD has more funky changes and stops to it, Miss You is very 4 on the floor straight.