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The Rolling Stones’ Six-Decade Career: Looking Through Their Past, Darkly
Billboard has revisited its own archive coverage of the Rolling Stones to mark the band's six-decade career, timed to the release of their new album Foreign Tongues. The retrospective traces the magazine's reporting from the band's 1964 US debut single "Not Fade Away" through to the present, offering a candid, often self-deprecating look at how Billboard's assessments of the band shifted, and occasionally erred, over the years.
The piece pulls choice excerpts from past issues: a 1964 ad boasting the Stones would "crush The Beatles", a lukewarm 1969 tour review criticising Mick Jagger's "trite" theatrics, and a mistaken 1971 report crediting Keith Richards with the lead vocal on "Wild Horses". It also notes Billboard's 1978 prediction that a major tour would be the band's last (an early instance of a now 45-year running joke), coverage of the sponsorship-driven 1989 Steel Wheels tour, and reflections from Richards on drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021 aged 80, and the band's enduring bond. Across 62 years, the Stones have released 25 albums and cycled through three guitarists.
In short
- Billboard revisits its archive coverage of the Rolling Stones' 62-year career.
- Includes past reviews, errors and predictions of the band's demise.
- Timed to new album Foreign Tongues and reflections on Charlie Watts' death.
Explained simply
The Rolling Stones are a British rock band that emerged in the early 1960s and became one of the most enduring and commercially successful acts in popular music history. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been the band's creative core and principal songwriters throughout their career, establishing them as central figures in rock and roll.
Billboard magazine has published a retrospective of its own archive coverage of the Rolling Stones, examining how the magazine reported on the band from their 1964 US debut onwards. The piece includes excerpts from past reviews and commentary that show how Billboard's critical assessments shifted over the years, occasionally featuring errors—such as misattributions of vocals or incorrect predictions about the band's future.
The retrospective highlights the Stones' exceptional staying power in an industry where few acts remain active for more than a few decades. Over their career, the band has released 25 albums, cycled through three guitarists, and maintained continuity through key members including drummer Charlie Watts, who remained with the group until his death in 2021 aged 80.