The Rolling Stones Essentials

Formed in 1962, The Rolling Stones—founders Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman—became one of the spearheads of the British Invasion, bad boys to The Beatles’ teddy bears. They toyed with folk and psychedelia in the mid-’60s (“Ruby Tuesday,” “Mother’s Little Helper”), but always circled back to something darker, grittier (the blues of “Midnight Rambler,” the R&B core of “Monkey Man”). With some exceptions, the idea of “arena rock” didn’t really exist until the Stones. As classic as their late-’60s and ’70s songs are (the country sprawl of “Honky Tonk Women” and “Tumbling Dice,” the swagger of “Miss You” and “Shattered”), they made their legacy on stage, scaling up the sweaty rush of small clubs to hockey rinks and football stadiums. Songs like “Start Me Up,” from 1981’s Tattoo You, only underscored their live prowess, and as the touring remained constant over the decades, the band kept delivering hits with 1989’s “Mixed Emotions” and 1997’s “Anybody Seen My Baby?” And even after Watts’ death in 2021, they soldiered on to the road, and released 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, their 24th album.