Ticket 2 Ride

Bob Spitz is a very good writer with a number of music bios (The Beatles, Led Zeppelin) under his belt, so I expected a lot from this book. At just over 600 pages, Spitz goes extra deep on the early years. Unfortunately, after 1980, he compresses 45 years into 40 or 50 pages. Certainly, the formative years of the band are what is of most interest, but many books and films have covered most of the same ground, numerous times. Spitz weaves together much of the facts in one story.

The Rolling Stones – The Biography by Bob Spitz (2026, Penguin Press)

The stars are Mick and Keith, and the sad fall of Brian Jones. Charlie, Bill, Mick Taylor and Ronnie are just supporting players in this tale. Granted, the Mick & Keith show is much more interesting than the Charlie & Bill show, but Spitz never really tells the read much about these two founding members. What we do get it at the end: Bill’s debacle of a romance and short marriage to a very young woman, and his retirement from the band; and Charlie’s late life substance abuse and cancer treatment, and passing in 2021. They, and Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood, and Ian “Stu” Stewart deserve more.

Spitz does a great job of telling the Stones early story and constructing a detailed history of their musical journey, especially their women, drugs, legal and money issues. What you don’t get is any deep insight into the creation of their music. Yes, they were steeped in American blues and used that to differentiate themselves from The Beatles, but their longevity and impact is more about connecting with pop and mainstream rock audiences.

If you are looking for a deep dive that focuses on the 1960-1980 period, this book tells that story. You get the decline of Brian Jones and his talent for getting young women pregnant (six of them), the screwing (no pun intended) by managers Andrew Oldham and Allen Klein, the Mick-Chrissy Shrimpton-Marianne Faithful-Bianca-Marsha Hunt-Jerry Hall-Carla Brunili relationships, the Keith-Linda Keith-Uschi Obermaier-Anita Pallenberg-Patti Hansen relationships, the drug arrests, American concert tours, and the ups and downs of the Mick-Keith relationship through the years. You also get to see the ticket cost of a Stones concert through the years.

Aside from The Beatles and Bob Dylan, no other music performer has influenced the culture over such a long period of time as the Rolling Stones. In the beginning, they were projected as trouble, lads you don’t want anywhere near your daughter. Long hair, scruffy, foul-mouthed, anti-authority young men. Sixty years later, grandfathers, Sir Mick Jagger, wealthy, and their music plays in movies, TV commercials and background music in malls and doctors’ offices.

This is a good read, not a great one, plenty of information, just not much analysis or deep insight into who these guys are.