Staying power

In "To be or not to be...dominant for centuries" I paid tribute to a literary great.

Today's post celebrates the staying power of a rock-and-roll team: The Rolling Stones.

Back in 1963, Mick Jagger figured The Rolling Stones wouldn't last more than a couple years. Considering the reckless lifestyle of band members, their larger-than-life personalities, and the excesses of the 1960s, it's surprising the bad boys of rock survived at all, let alone to play on for all these years.

Fortunately for fans and artists alike, Mick was wrong; this summer marked the band's 50th anniversary. While the band's composition has shifted since the Rolling Stones took to the public stage at London's Marquee Club back on July 12, 1962, the talented frontmen, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, have remained at the core.


Shepard Fairey designed an anniversary version
of the band's iconic logo (shown above). The
original, created by John Pasche, easily ranks as
one of the most recognizable logos in the world,
inside and outside the music industry.

Sure, the band members have pursued solo projects, but they migrate back. They look the worse for wear, but still rock it. The boys continue to tour together, record new albums, film documentaries, party like nobody's business, write books, host photo exhibits and more.

Mick, Keith, Ronnie Woods (as of 1975) and Charlie Watts (as of 1963) still astound fans. Their hits consistently rank in the Top 100 rock songs of all time. But their influence spans other genres as well, including blues and pop, and affects today's artists. 

Beyond cranking out their own music (watch for a Nov. 2012 Stones album titled "Grrr"), now those British rockers are the subject of songs too. Case in point, Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera's chart-topping hit about Mick's moves.


Yeah, Mick can move and the Stones sure know how to put on a show. Thanks to the generosity of friends I met earlier during my residence days at McGill, I took in a Stones concert at Montréal's Big O Stadium in December 1989, one leg of the Steel Wheels tour. 

Sing it with me now:

I know it's only Rock 'N Roll but I like it, like it, yes, I do.
Oh well, I like it, ooh, I like it, I like it,...

Even after five decades, I like it enough to label those rockers and their staying power as

      AWESOME!

Do you admire particular artists for their staying power? For example, consider how fitting it is that 30 years ago Queen released a song called "Staying Power," and then during the London 2012 closing ceremonies Queen’s talented guitarist
Brian May showed the world he still rocks in high gear.