Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones was the founder
and original bandleader of the Rolling Stones.
Jones was a multi-instrumentalist, with his
main instruments being the guitar, harmonica
and keyboards. His innovative use of traditional
or folk instruments, such as the sitar and
marimba, was integral to the changing sound
of the band.
Although he was originally the leader of the
group, Jones's fellow band members Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards soon overshadowed him,
especially after they became a successful
songwriting team. He developed a serious drug
problem over the years and his role in the
band steadily diminished. He was asked to
leave the Rolling Stones in June 1969 and
guitarist Mick Taylor took his place in the
group. Jones died less than a month later
by drowning in the swimming pool at his home
on Cotchford Farm in Hartfield, East Sussex.
Original Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman
said of Jones, "He formed the band. He chose
the members. He named the band. He chose the
music we played. He got us gigs. ... Very
influential, very important, and then slowly
lost it – highly intelligent – and just
kind of wasted it and blew it all away."
Biography
Early life and paternity
Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 28 February
1942. An attack of croup at the age of four
left him with asthma, which lasted for the
rest of his life. His middle-class parents,
Lewis Blount Jones and Louisa Beatrice Jones
were of Welsh descent. Brian had two sisters:
Pamela, who was born on 3 October 1943 and
who died on 14 October 1945 of leukaemia;
and Barbara, born on 22 August 1946.
Both Jones's parents were interested in music:
his mother Louisa was a piano teacher, and
in addition to his job as an aeronautical
engineer, Lewis Jones played piano and organ
and led the choir at the local church.
In 1957 Jones first heard Cannonball Adderley's
music, which inspired his interest in jazz.
Jones persuaded his parents to buy him a saxophone,
and two years later his parents gave him his
first acoustic guitar as a 17th birthday present.
Jones attended local schools, including Dean
Close School, from September 1949 to July
1953 and Cheltenham Grammar School for Boys,
which he entered in September 1953 after passing
the Eleven-plus exam. He enjoyed badminton
and diving at school and attained first clarinet
in the school orchestra. In 1957 he reportedly
obtained seven O-level passes, then he continued
into the sixth form and obtained a further
two O-levels. He also took three A-levels
in Physics, Chemistry and Biology and passed
in Physics and Chemistry, but failed in Biology.
Jones had an IQ of 135 and was able to perform
well in exams despite a lack of academic effort.
However, he found school regimented and disliked
conforming. He disliked the school uniforms
and angered teachers with his behaviour, though
he was popular with classmates. Jones himself
said: "When I made the sixth form I found
myself accepted by the older boys; suddenly
I was in."
His hostility to authority figures resulted
in his suspension from school on two occasions.
According to Dick Hattrell, a childhood friend:
"He was a rebel without a cause, but when
examinations came he was brilliant."
In late summer 1959, Jones's 17-year-old girlfriend,
a Cheltenham schoolgirl named Valerie Corbett,
became pregnant. Although Jones is said to
have encouraged her to have an abortion, she
carried the child to term and placed baby
Barry David for adoption.
Jones quit school in disgrace and left home,
travelling for a summer through Northern Europe
and Scandinavia. During this period, he lived
a bohemian lifestyle, busking with his guitar
on the streets for money, and living off the
charity of others. Eventually, he ran short
of money and returned to England.
Jones listened to classical music as a child,
but preferred blues, particularly Elmore James
and Robert Johnson. He began performing at
local blues and jazz clubs, while busking
and working odd jobs. He reportedly stole
small amounts of money from work to pay for
cigarettes, for which he was fired.
In November 1959, Jones went to the Wooden
Bridge Hotel in Guildford to see a band perform.
He met a young married woman named Angeline,
and the two had a one-night stand that resulted
in her pregnancy. Angeline and her husband
decided to raise the baby, Belinda, born on
4 August the following year. Jones never knew
about her birth.
In 1961, Jones applied for a scholarship to
Cheltenham Art College. He was initially accepted
into the programme, but two days later the
offer was withdrawn after an unidentified
acquaintance wrote to the college, calling
Jones an irresponsible drifter.
On 23 October 1961, Jones's girlfriend Pat
Andrews gave birth to his third child, Julian
Mark Andrews. Jones sold his record collection
to buy flowers for Pat and clothes for the
newborn. He lived with them for a while. On
23 July 1964, another woman, Linda Lawrence,
gave birth to Jones's fourth child, named
Julian Brian. In early October 1964, an occasional
girlfriend of Brian's, Dawn Molloy, announced
to Brian and the band's management that she
was pregnant by Brian. She received a cheque
for £700 from Andrew Loog Oldham, LTD. In
return, she signed an agreement that the matter
was now closed and she would make no statement
about Brian Jones or the child to the public
or the press. The undated statement was signed
by Malloy and witnessed by Mick. In March
1965 Dawn gave birth to Brian's fifth child
Paul Molloy, renamed John Maynard by his adoptive
parents.
Forming the Rolling Stones
Jones left Cheltenham and moved to London
where he became friends with fellow musicians
Alexis Korner, future Manfred Mann singer
Paul Jones, future Cream bassist Jack Bruce
and others who made up the small London rhythm
and blues and jazz scene there. He became
a blues musician, for a brief time calling
himself "Elmo Lewis", and playing slide guitar.
Jones also started a group with Paul Jones
called the Roosters and in January 1963, after
both Brian and Paul left the group, Eric Clapton
took over Brian's position as guitarist.
Jones placed an advertisement in Jazz News
of 2 May 1962 inviting musicians to audition
for a new R&B group at the Bricklayer's Arms
pub; pianist Ian "Stu" Stewart was the first
to respond. Later singer Mick Jagger also
joined this band; Jagger and his childhood
friend Keith Richards had met Jones when he
and Paul Jones were playing Elmore James'
"Dust My Broom" with Korner's band at the
Ealing Jazz Club. Jagger brought guitarist
Richards to 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, Jones came up
with the name the "Rollin' Stones" 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 five, side one was 'Rollin' Stone'".
The Rollin' Stones played their first gig
on 12 July 1962 in the Marquee Club in London
with Jagger, Richards, Jones, Stewart, bass
player Dick Taylor and drummer Tony Chapman.
From September 1962 to September 1963 Jones,
Jagger and Richards shared a flat at 102 Edith
Grove, Chelsea, with James Phelge, a future
photographer whose name was used in some of
the group's early "Nanker/Phelge" writing
credits. Jones and Richards spent day after
day playing guitar while listening to blues
records. During this time, Jones also taught
Jagger how to play harmonica.
The four Rollin' Stones went searching for
a bassist and drummer, finally settling on
Bill Wyman on bass because he had a spare
VOX AC30 guitar amplifier and always had cigarettes,
as well as a bass guitar that he had built
himself. After playing with Mick Avory, Tony
Chapman and Carlo Little, in January 1963
they finally persuaded jazz-influenced Charlie
Watts to join them. At the time, Watts was
considered by fellow musicians to be one of
the better drummers in London; he had played
with Alexis Korner's group Blues Incorporated.
Watts described Jones's role in these early
days: "Brian was very instrumental in pushing
the band at the beginning. Keith and I would
look at him and say he was barmy. It was a
crusade to him to get us on the stage in a
club and be paid half-a-crown and to be billed
as an R&B band".
While acting as the band's business manager,
Jones received £5 more than the other members,
which did not sit well with the rest of the
band and created resentment. Keith Richards
has said that both he and Mick were surprised
to learn that Brian considered himself the
leader and was receiving the extra £5, especially
as other people, like Giorgio Gomelsky, appeared
to be doing the booking.
Musical contributions
Jones's main guitar in the early years was
a Harmony Stratotone, which he replaced with
a Gretsch Double Anniversary in two-tone green.
In 1964 and 1965, he often used a teardrop-shaped
prototype Vox Mark III. From late 1965 until
his death, Jones used Gibson models, as well
as two Rickenbacker 12-string models. He can
also be seen playing a Fender Telecaster in
the 1968 "Jumpin' Jack Flash" promo video.
Examples of Jones's contributions are his
slide guitar on "I Wanna Be Your Man", "I'm
a King Bee", "Little Red Rooster", "I Can't
Be Satisfied", "I'm Movin' On", "Doncha Bother
Me" and "No Expectations". Jones can also
be heard playing Bo Diddley-style rhythm guitar
on "I Need You Baby", the guitar riff in "The
Last Time"; sitar on "Street Fighting Man",
"Paint It, Black"; organ on "Let's Spend the
Night Together"; marimba on "Under My Thumb",
"Out of Time" and "Yesterday's Papers"; recorder
on "Ruby Tuesday" and "All Sold Out"; trumpet
on "Child of the Moon", saxophone on "Citadel";
Appalachian dulcimer on "I Am Waiting" and
"Lady Jane", and harpsichord on "Lady Jane";
mellotron on "She's a Rainbow", "We Love You",
"Stray Cat Blues", "2000 Light Years from
Home, and "Citadel"; and the autoharp on "You
Got the Silver".
Jones also played harmonica on many of the
Rolling Stones' early songs. Examples of Jones's
playing are on "Stoned", "Not Fade Away",
"I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Now I've
Got A Witness"", "Good Times, Bad Times",
"2120 South Michigan Avenue", "The Under Assistant
West Coast Promotion Man", "One More Try",
"High and Dry" and "Goin' Home", "Who's Driving
Your Plane?", "Cool Calm and Collected", "Who's
Been Sleeping Here", and "Dear Doctor" and
"Prodigal Son".
In the early years, Jones often served as
a backing vocalist. Notable examples are "Come
On", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "I Just Wanna
Make Love to You", "Walking the Dog", "Money",
"I'm Alright", "You Better Move On" and "It's
All Over Now". He contributed backing vocals
as late as 1968 on "Sympathy for the Devil".
He is also responsible for the whistling on
"Walking the Dog".
Richards maintains that what he calls "guitar
weaving" emerged from this period, from listening
to Jimmy Reed albums: "We listened to the
teamwork, trying to work out what was going
on in those records; how you could play together
with two guitars and make it sound like four
or five". Jones's and Richards's guitars became
a signature of the sound of the Rolling Stones,
with both guitarists playing rhythm and lead
without clear boundaries between the two roles.
His aptitude for playing a wide variety of
instruments is particularly evident on the
albums Aftermath, Between the Buttons and
Their Satanic Majesties Request.
Estrangement from bandmates
Andrew Loog Oldham's arrival marked the beginning
of Jones's slow estrangement. Oldham recognised
the financial advantages of bandmembers' writing
their own songs, as exemplified by Lennon–McCartney,
and that playing covers would not sustain
a band in the limelight for long. Further,
Oldham wanted to make Jagger's charisma and
flamboyance a focus of live performances.
Jones saw his influence over the Stones' direction
slide as their repertoire comprised fewer
of the blues covers that he preferred; more
Jagger/Richards originals developed, and Oldham
increased his own managerial control, displacing
Jones from yet another role.
According to Oldham in his book Stoned, Jones
was an outsider from the beginning. When the
first tours were arranged in 1963, he travelled
separately from the band, stayed at different
hotels, and demanded extra pay. According
to Oldham, Jones was very emotional and felt
alienated because he was not a prolific song
writer and his management role had been taken
away. He "resisted the symbiosis demanded
by the group lifestyle, and so life was becoming
more desperate for him day by day. None of
us were looking forward to Brian totally cracking
up".
The toll from days on the road, the money
and fame, and the feeling of being alienated
from the group resulted in Jones's overindulgence
in alcohol and other drugs. These excesses
had a debilitative effect on his physical
health and, according to Oldham, Jones became
unfriendly and asocial at times.
Jones was arrested for drug possession on
10 May 1967, shortly after the "Redlands"
incident at Richards' Sussex home. Authorities
found marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine
in his flat. He confessed to marijuana use
but claimed he did not use hard drugs. Reacting
as fans did at the arrests of Jones's band
mates, protesters appeared outside court demanding
that Jones be freed. He was not kept in jail
but was fined, given probation, and ordered
to see a counselor.
In June 1967, Jones attended the Monterey
Pop Festival. There he met Frank Zappa and
Dennis Hopper, and went on stage to introduce
the Jimi Hendrix Experience which was not
well known yet in the USA. One review referred
to Jones as "the unofficial 'king' of the
festival".
Hostility grew between Jones, Jagger, and
Richards, alienating Jones further from the
group. Although many noted that Jones could
be friendly and outgoing, Wyman, Richards,
and Watts have commented that he could also
be cruel and difficult. By most accounts,
Jones's attitude changed frequently; he was
one minute caring and generous, the next making
an effort to anger everyone. As Wyman observed
in Stone Alone: "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".
In March 1967, Anita Pallenberg, Jones's girlfriend
of two years, left him for Richards when Jones
was hospitalised during a trip the three made
to Morocco, further damaging the already strained
relations between Jones and Richards. As tensions
and Jones's substance use increased, his musical
contributions became sporadic. He became bored
with the guitar and sought exotic instruments
to play, and he was increasingly absent from
recording sessions. In Peter Whitehead's promotional
film for "We Love You", made in July 1967,
he appears groggy.
Jones's last substantial sessions with the
Stones occurred in spring and summer of 1968
when the Stones produced "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
and the Beggars Banquet album. He can be seen
in the Jean-Luc Godard film One Plus One playing
acoustic guitar and chatting and sharing cigarettes
with Richards, although Jones is neglected
in the music-making. The film chronicles the
making of "Sympathy for the Devil".
Where once Jones played multiple instruments
on many tracks, he now played only minor roles
on a few pieces. Jones's last formal appearance
was in the December 1968 The Rolling Stones
Rock and Roll Circus, a part concert, part
circus-act film organised by the band. It
went unreleased for 25 years because Jagger
was unhappy with the band's performance compared
to others in the film such as Jethro Tull,
The Who, and Taj Mahal. Commentary included
as bonus material indicated that almost everyone
at the concert sensed that the end of Jones's
time with the Rolling Stones was near, and
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who
thought it would be Jones's last live musical
performance.
Departure from the band
Jones was arrested a second time on 21 May
1968, for possession of cannabis, which Jones
said had been left by previous tenants of
the flat. He was facing a long jail sentence
if found guilty owing to his probation. 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 but the
judge had sympathy for Jones; instead of jailing
him he fined him £50 plus £105 in costs
and told him: "For goodness sake, don't get
into trouble again or it really will be serious".
Jones's legal troubles, estrangement from
his bandmates, substance abuse and mood swings
became too much of an obstacle to active participation
in the band. The Rolling Stones wanted to
tour the United States in 1969 for the first
time in three years but Jones was not in fit
condition to tour and his second arrest exacerbated
problems with acquiring a US work visa. In
addition, Jones's attendance of rehearsals
and recording sessions had become erratic;
and when he did appear he rarely contributed
anything musically or his bandmates would
switch off his guitar leaving Richards playing
nearly all the guitars. According to author
Gary Herman, Jones was "literally incapable
of making music; when he tried to play harmonica
his mouth started bleeding".
This behaviour was problematic during the
Beggar's Banquet sessions and had worsened
by the time the band commenced recording Let
It Bleed. In March 1969, Jones borrowed the
group's Jaguar and went shopping in Pimlico
Road. After the parked car was towed by police
Jones hired a chauffeur car to get home. In
May 1969, Jones crashed his motorcycle into
a shop window and was secretly taken to a
hospital under an assumed name. From this
point, Jones was still attending recording
sessions, but no longer a major contributor
to the band's music. By May, he had made two
contributions to the work in progress: autoharp
on "You Got the Silver" and percussion on
"Midnight Rambler". Jagger duly informed Jones
that he would be fired from the band if he
did not turn up to a photo session. Looking
frail, he nonetheless showed up and his last
photo session as a Rolling Stone took place
on Wednesday, 21 May 1969, first at St. Katherine
Docks, Tower Bridge, London and then at Ethan
Russell's photographic studio in South Kensington
London. The photos would appear on the album
Through The Past Darkly in September 1969.
The Stones decided that following the release
of the Let it Bleed album they would start
a North American tour in November 1969. However,
the Stones management was informed that because
of his drug convictions Jones would not receive
a work permit. At the suggestion of pianist
and road manager Ian Stewart, the Stones decided
to add a new guitarist and on 8 June 1969,
Jones was visited by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards,
and Charlie Watts where he was told that the
group he had formed would continue without
him.
To the public it appeared as if Jones had
left voluntarily; the other band members told
him that although he was being asked to leave
it was his choice how to break it to the public.
Jones released a statement on 9 June 1969,
announcing his departure. In this statement
he said, among other things, that "I no longer
see eye-to-eye with the others over the discs
we are cutting". Jones was replaced by 20-year-old
guitarist Mick Taylor.
During the period of his decreasing involvement
in the band Jones was living at Cotchford
Farm in East Sussex, the residence formerly
owned by Winnie-the-Pooh author A. A. Milne
which Jones had purchased in November 1968.
There is uncertainty as to the mental and
physical state Jones was in. The last known
photographs of Jones, taken by schoolgirl
Helen Spittal on 23 June 1969, shortly after
his departure from the Stones are not flattering;
he appears bloated with deep-set eyes. However,
Alexis Korner, who visited in late June only
shortly after the Spittal photos were taken,
noted that Jones seemed "happier than he had
ever been". Jones is known to have contacted
Korner, Ian Stewart, John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell,
and Jimmy Miller about intentions to put together
another band. Jones had apparently demoed
a few of his own songs in the weeks before
his death, including 'Has Anybody Seen My
Baby?' and 'Chow Time.'
Death
At around midnight on the night of 2–3 July
1969, Jones was discovered motionless at the
bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm.
His Swedish girlfriend, Anna Wohlin, was convinced
Jones was alive when he was taken out of the
pool insisting he still had a pulse. However,
by the time the doctors arrived it was too
late and he was pronounced dead. The coroner's
report stated "death by misadventure" and
noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged
by drug and alcohol abuse.
Upon Jones's death, The Who's Pete Townshend
wrote a poem titled "A Normal Day for Brian,
A Man Who Died Every Day", Jimi Hendrix dedicated
a song to him on US television, and Jim Morrison
of The Doors published a poem entitled "Ode
to L.A. While Thinking of Brian Jones, Deceased".
Hendrix and Morrison both died within the
following two years, both aged 27, the same
as Jones.
The Rolling Stones performed at a free concert
in Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, two days after
Jones's death. The concert had been scheduled
weeks earlier as an opportunity to present
the Stones' new guitarist, Mick Taylor, and
the band decided to dedicate the concert to
Jones. Before the Rolling Stones' set Jagger
read excerpts from "Adonais", a poem by Percy
Shelley about the death of his friend John
Keats, and stagehands released hundreds of
white butterflies as part of the tribute.
The band opened with a Johnny Winter song
that was one of Jones's favourites, "I'm Yours
and I'm Hers".
Jones was reportedly buried 12 feet deep in
Cheltenham Cemetery. Watts and Wyman were
the only Rolling Stones who attended the funeral.
Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull were travelling
to Australia to begin the filming of Ned Kelly;
they stated that their contracts did not allow
them to delay the trip to attend the funeral.
When asked if he felt guilty about Jones's
death Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone in 1995:
"No, I don't really. I do feel that I behaved
in a very childish way, but we were very young,
and in some ways we picked on him. But, unfortunately,
he made himself a target for it; he was very,
very jealous, very difficult, very manipulative,
and if you do that in this kind of a group
of people you get back as good as you give,
to be honest. I wasn't understanding enough
about his drug addiction. No one seemed to
know much about drug addiction. Things like
LSD were all new. No one knew the harm. People
thought cocaine was good for you."
Murder claims
Theories surrounding Jones's death developed
soon afterwards with associates of the Stones
claiming to have information that he was murdered.
According to rock biographer Philip Norman,
"the murder theory would bubble back to the
surface every five years or so". In 1993 it
was reported that Jones was murdered by Frank
Thorogood, who was doing some construction
work on the property. He was the last person
to see Jones alive. Thorogood allegedly confessed
the murder to the Rolling Stones' driver,
Tom Keylock, who later denied this. The Thorogood
theory was dramatised in the 2005 movie Stoned.
In August 2009, Sussex Police decided to review
Jones's death for the first time since 1969,
after new evidence was handed to them by Scott
Jones, an investigative journalist in the
UK. Scott Jones had traced many of the people
who were at Brian Jones's house the night
he died plus unseen police files held at the
National Archives. In the Mail on Sunday in
November 2008, Scott Jones said Frank Thorogood
killed Brian Jones in a fight and the senior
police officers covered up the true cause
of death. Following the review the Sussex
police stated that they would not be reopening
the case. They asserted that "this has been
thoroughly reviewed by Sussex Police's Crime
Policy and Review Branch but there is no new
evidence to suggest that the coroner's original
verdict of 'death by misadventure' was incorrect.
As such, the case will not be reopened."
Songwriting credits
Unsure and insecure as a composer, Jones was
not a prolific songwriter. The 30-second "Rice
Krispies" jingle for Kellogg's, co-written
with the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency
in 1963 and performed by the Rolling Stones
incognito was credited to Jones; this did
not sit well with the rest of the band, who
felt it was a group effort and all should
benefit equally. Jones was also included in
the "Nanker/Phelge" songwriting credit, a
pseudonym used on fourteen tracks that were
composed by the entire band and Andrew Oldham.
According to Andrew Oldham, the main reason
for Jones's not writing songs was that Jones,
being a blues purist, did not love simple
pop music enough. Oldham tried to establish
a songwriting partnership between Jones and
Gene Pitney after "becoming bored senseless
by Jones's bleating about the potential of
half-finished melodies that by no means deserved
completion", but after two days of sessions
"the results remain best to be unheard, even
by Stones' completists".
When asked in 1965 if he had written songs,
Jones replied: "Always tried. I've written
quite a few, but mostly in blues style". Many
years later after his death, Keith Richards
stated: "No, no, absolutely not. That was
the one thing he would never do. Brian wouldn't
show them to anybody within the Stones. Brian
as far as I know never wrote a single finished
song in his life; he wrote bits and pieces
but he never presented them to us. No doubt
he spent hours, weeks, working on things,
but his paranoia was so great that he could
never bring himself to present them to us".
Bill Wyman has stated that Jones was "an incredibly
gifted musician, but not a song writer"; and
in 1995, Mick Jagger told Rolling Stone that
Jones had been jealous of the Jagger/Richards
songwriting team, and added: "To be honest,
Brian had no talent for writing songs. None.
I've never known a guy with less talent for
songwriting."
Marianne Faithfull reported that Brian Jones
wrote an early version of the melody for "Ruby
Tuesday" and presented it to the group. Victor
Bockris reported that Keith Richards and Brian
Jones worked out the final melody in the studio.
Additionally, Jones is credited for the instrumental
piece "Hear It". However, in 1966 Jones composed,
produced, and played on the soundtrack to
Mord und Totschlag, an avant-garde German
film with Anita Pallenberg, adding the majority
of the instrumentation to the soundtrack.
In 1990, Carla Olson was given permission
from Jones's estate to put one of his poems
to music and thus created the Jones/Olson
song "Thank You For Being There". It appeared
on the album True Voices, performed by Krysia
Kristianne and Robin Williamson.
Other contributions
In summer 1968, Jones recorded the Morocco-based
ensemble, the Master Musicians of Joujouka,
as the name of the Moroccan mountain village
was spelled at the time, the more correct
spelling of the Arabic name being Jajouka,
which was later used by the band; the recording
was released in 1971 as Brian Jones Presents
the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka. Jagger and Richards
visited Jajouka in 1989 after recording "Continental
Drift" for the Rolling Stones album Steel
Wheels with The Master Musicians of Jajouka
led by Bachir Attar in Tangier. A homage to
Jones entitled "Brian Jones Joujouka very
Stoned", painted by Mohamed Hamri, who had
brought Jones to Jajouka in 1967, appeared
on the cover of Joujouka Black Eyes by the
Master Musicians of Joujouka in 1995, this
being a splinter group created by an Irish
friend of the former and estranged Moroccan
manager, Mohamed Hamri. Brian Jones Presents
the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka was rereleased
in co-operation with Bachir Attar and Philip
Glass in 1995. The executive producers were
Philip Glass, Kurt Munkasci and Rory Johnston,
with notes by Bachir Attar, Paul Bowles, William
S. Burroughs, Stephen Davis, Brian Jones,
Brion Gysin and David Silver. and included
additional graphics, more extensive notes
by David Silver and William S. Burroughs,
and a second CD, produced by Cliff Mark, with
two "full-length remixes." Jones played alto
saxophone on The Beatles song "You Know My
Name", which was released in March 1970, eight
months after his death.
Public image and legend
Anita Pallenberg has stated in an interview
that he wanted to look like Françoise Hardy,
he loved "dressing up and posing about" and
that he would ask her to do his hair and make-up.
Bo Diddley described Brian as "a little dude
that was trying to pull the group ahead. I
saw him as the leader. He didn't take no mess.
He was a fantastic cat; he handled the group
beautifully."
Jones's death at 27 was the first of the 1960s
rock movement; Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,
and Jim Morrison found their own drug-related
deaths at the same age within two years. The
coincidence of ages has been described as
the "27 Club". When Alastair Johns, who owned
Cotchford Farm for over 40 years after Jones's
death, refurbished the pool, he sold the original
tiles to Jones's fans for £100 each, which
paid for half of the work. Johns noted that
Cotchford Farm remained for decades an attraction
for Jones' fans.
Jagger wrote The Stones' "Shine a Light" after
Jones's death. It depicts Jones's behaviour
and remoteness from the band, and asks God
to shine a light on his soul. Several other
songs have been written about Jones: Morrison
originally wrote The Doors' song "Tightrope
Ride" for Jones, but after Morrison's death
Ray Manzarek rewrote some of the lyrics so
that they apply to both musicians. The Psychic
TV song "Godstar" is about Jones's death,
as are Robyn Hitchcock's "Trash", The Drovers'
"She's as Pretty as Brian Jones Was", Ted
Nugent's "Death by Misadventure", and Salmonblaster's
"Brian Jones". Toy Love's song "Swimming Pool"
lists several dead rock icons including Jones;
Jones is also mentioned in De Phazz's song
"Something Special". The Master Musicians
of Joujouka song "Brian Jones Joujouka Very
Stoned" was released in 1974 and 1996. The
band Tigers Jaw heavily references Jones and
his death in their song "I Saw Water".
Many of his contemporaries admit to idolising
him as young musicians, including Noel Redding,
who, according to Pamela Des Barres's book
I'm With the Band, contemplated suicide after
hearing about his death.
The 2005 film Stoned is a fictional account
of Jones and his role in the Rolling Stones.
The part of Brian was played by English actor
Leo Gregory.
A fictionalised version of Jones and the tribute
concert to him appears in Alan Moore and Kevin
O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,
Volume III: Century in its second issue, "Paint
it Black".
His exceptional musicianship as well as contribution
to the band is featured heavily in the documentary
Crossfire Hurricane.
Discography
With the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
England's Newest Hit Makers
12 X 5
The Rolling Stones No. 2
The Rolling Stones, Now!
Five by Five
Got Live If You Want It!
Out of Our Heads
December's Children
Aftermath
Big Hits
Got Live If You Want It!
Between the Buttons
Flowers
Their Satanic Majesties Request
Beggars Banquet
Through the Past, Darkly
Let It Bleed
Jones plays on "Midnight Rambler" and "You
Got The Silver"
Hot Rocks, 1964-1971
More Hot Rocks
Singles Collection: The London Years.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
Forty Licks
GRRR!
With the Beatles
"Yellow Submarine" backing vocals, sound effects
"You Know My Name" saxophone
With Jimi Hendrix
"All Along the Watchtower" percussion
"My Little One" sitar, percussion
"Ain't Nothin' Wrong With That" sitar, percussion
With Peter and Gordon
"You've Had Better Times" drums
"Mess of the Blues" harmonica
With McGough and McGear
"Basement Flat" saxophone
"Summer with Monica" saxophone
With Marianne Faithfull
"Is This What I Get For Loving You?" euphonium
With The Andrew Oldham Orchestra
"365 Rolling Stones" lead vocals, handclaps
With Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
"Western Flier" piano, guitar, harmonica
Solo discography
A Degree of Murder
Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka
Notes
References
Gary Herman, Rock 'N' Roll Babylon, ISBN 0-85965-041-3
Gered Mankowitz, Brian Jones: Like a Rollin'
Stone
Robert Weingartner, A tribute to Brian Jones
Terry Rawlings, Who Killed Christopher Robin?:
The Life and Death of Brian Jones, ISBN 0-7522-0989-2
Laura Jackson, Golden Stone: The Untold Life
and Tragic Death of Brian Jones, ISBN 0-312-09820-0
R. Chapman, "The bittersweet symphony", Mojo,
68, pg.62–84
Bill Wyman and Ray Coleman, Stone Alone, ISBN
0-670-82894-7
Alan Clayson, Brian Jones, ISBN 1-86074-544-X
Bill Wyman, Richard Havers. Rolling With The
Stones, ISBN 0-7894-8967-8
Andrew Loog Oldham, Stoned : A Memoir of
London in the 1960s ISBN 978-0-312-27094-0
Mandy Aftel, Death of a Rolling Stone: The
Brian Jones Story ISBN 0-933328-37-0
Graham Ride, Foundation Stone, ISBN 1-904221-02-5
External links
Brian Jones interviewed on the Pop Chronicles
