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Dynamite, Jail & the Playboy Mansion: Inside the 'Crazy Adventure' of the Rolling Stones' 1972 Tour

The tour is being revisited on the iHeartMedia podcast Stones Touring Party, which draws from more than 60 hours of never-before-heard interviews with the band

The Rolling Stones were well on their way to becoming music legends, but in 1972, Mick Jagger , Keith Richards , Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Mick Taylor hardly felt on top of the world.

Three years after the death of founding member Brian Jones, the British bandmates were fresh off a stint in France, where they’d been holed up to avoid U.K. taxes. And Jagger was a target of the motorcycle club Hells Angels, who had a vendetta against the band after a 1969 concert for which they’d been hired as security ended in the fatal stabbing of a teenage fan.

Despite some trepidation they plotted a two-month, 48-show tour across North America — which went down as one of the most electrifying tours in rock history.

“It took rock and roll touring to another level—after this, everything was different,” says Robert Greenfield, a onetime Rolling Stone editor who was granted behind-the-scenes access to the tour, which resulted in his 1974 book S.T.P.: A Journey Through America With the Rolling Stones .

John G. White/The Denver Post via Getty 

Five decades later the tour is being revisited on the iHeartMedia podcast Stones Touring Party (streaming now), which is hosted and written by former PEOPLE staffer Jordan Runtagh and draws from more than 60 hours of Greenfield’s never-before-heard interviews with the band, taped between 1972 and 1973.

“The tour was like a combination of a military campaign and a star-studded, crazy adventure,” says Greenfield. “They were at the apex of the pyramid of the world.” Here, a look back at the mayhem and magic on tour.

Fearing the Hells Angels 

Howard Erker/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty

After the tragedy at the Stones’ 1969 concert at California’s Altamont Speedway, the Hells Angels felt the rock group had let them take the fall in the public eye. Rumors ran rampant that Jagger could be kidnapped or even assassinated in retaliation, prompting the Stones to beef up their security.

“I was told . . . I couldn’t order food from room service because somebody might slip into the kitchen and put poison in my curry,” guitarist Taylor said in the tapes.

Though rattled, Jagger put on a brave face. “Either I stopped touring or I didn’t,” he said in Greenfield’s interviews. “But there were a few places where it did get scary, and there were a lot of guns confiscated. . . . I was scared s---less!”

A Dynamite Explosion 

Robert R. McElroy/Getty

On July 17, the day the Stones were set to play the Montreal Forum, things got off to a terrifying start when someone detonated dynamite beneath one of their equipment trucks.

No one was injured, but rumors swirled that more bombs were set to go off throughout the day, prompting authorities to delay the Stones’ show for nearly an hour as bomb squads descended to make sure all was safe. The bomber was never identified.

“I was worried, man,” late drummer Watts said in the tapes. “I don’t want to get blown up.” Jagger, too, was alarmed by the incident: “I was frightened for everybody that some motherf---er put a bomb in the hall in the middle of the show, and some kids were gonna get hurt.” 

Jailhouse Rock 

Kypros/Getty

More drama awaited the Stones as they headed back to the U.S. the next day. With a show scheduled in Boston the night of July 18, the band was already frustrated after bad weather forced their private jet to land an hour away in Rhode Island.

Add a pesky paparazzo on the tarmac to the mix, and tensions were high. Richards lashed out and took a swing at photographer Andrew Dickerman.

“He’d already been told, ‘Piss off,’ ” Richards said in the tapes. “I had no idea exactly how close he was. Really it was just a gesture, for which I was promptly arrested.”

When Jagger complained about Richards’s arrest, he was cuffed too, and the pair were hauled off to jail as 20,000 fans grew restless awaiting their gig. Fearing a riot, officials released Jagger and Richards, and a motorcade escorted the band to the venue.

“It felt good to be able to get up onstage after all that, because for the kids it was like, ‘Yay, they got away from the pigs! Hurrah!’ ” said Richards.

Playtime at the Playboy Mansion 

 Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

The group did make time for fun. After a stop in Chicago they took Hugh Hefner up on his invitation to stay at the original Playboy Mansion, making the 70-room estate their personal playground.

“That place was set up to do anything you wanted at any time,” bassist Wyman said in the tapes. “There was always something to do. . . . And there were 50 chicks there all the time, walking about, looking after you.”

At one point Richards’ and saxophonist Bobby Keys ’ cigarette embers started a fire in a bathroom—a crisis that was averted thanks to large buckets of water.

A Dangerous Vice 

Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty 

Amid the lighter-hearted debauchery, some in the band were also contending with serious demons. Though fresh off a detox in Switzerland, Richards was in the midst of a crippling heroin addiction.

“The only way to do a tour like that is to be as high as you can be and not think about anything else except that,” said Richards.

Still, the Stones — who were selling out arenas on what would become one of the highest-grossing music tours ever at the time — were at the top of their game when it came to the music. “The most important thing is the show—that isn’t bulls---,” said Richards.

And that dedication was evident, Greenfield says: “You would’ve thought, ‘This is the best show I’ve ever seen.’ ”

For more on the Rolling Stones, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

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Revisit The Rolling Stones Infamous 1972 North American Tour on New Podcast

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

When the Rolling Stones kicked off their 48-date North American summer tour in 1972, Rolling Stone writer Robert Greenfield was by their side to chronicle every second of the madness for his book Stones Touring Party. He logged more than 60 hours of interviews with the band and their associates, but much of that audio has sat in the vault for the past five decades.

It’s finally going to be heard as part of the iHeartPodcast series Stones Touring Party , kicking off on August 2. Hosted by writer Jordan Runtagh, the podcast will explore the mayhem of life on the road and the broader chaos engulfing the country as the Vietnam War was winding down and major American cities were going up in flames.

“Either I stopped touring, or I didn’t,” Jagger says. “It was as simple as that. A few people said don’t go — friends of mine. They said, ‘You’ve really gotta be more careful; you can’t go.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s more or less what I do, so I gotta do it!’ Either I do it, or I don’t do it. If I don’t do it, what am I going to do? There was a few places where it did get scary, and there was a lot of guns confiscated and stuff like that. Don’t say I wasn’t scared — I was scared shitless!

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Stones keyboardist/roadie Ian Stewart, who died in 1985, also shared some thoughts on the matter with Greenfield back in 1972. “The way I think about it is if anybody was going to ‘do’ Mick they’d do him,” he said. “They’d do him with a rifle from the back of the hall or something like that. If anybody really set out to bloody kill him, they’d kill him.”

Needless to say, Jagger and the rest of the Stones survived the tour intact. And according to many hardcore fans, the tour represented their absolute pinnacle as a live band.

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The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972

The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 , also known as the "Stones Touring Party", shortened to S.T.P., [1] was a much-publicized and much-written-about concert tour of the United States and Canada in June and July 1972 by The Rolling Stones . Constituting the band's first performances in the United States following the Altamont Free Concert in December 1969, critic Dave Marsh would later write that the tour was "part of rock and roll legend" and one of the "benchmarks of an era." [2]

Tour and difficulties

The rolling stones.

• Additional musicians

Tour support acts

Tour set list, bibliography, external links.

The tour in part supported the group's Exile on Main St. album, which was released a few weeks earlier on 12 May. It was also part of a tour-America-every-three-years rotation that the group established in 1969 and maintained through 1981.

On the first show of the tour, 3 June in Vancouver , British Columbia , 31 policemen were treated for injuries when more than 2,000 fans attempted to crash the Pacific Coliseum . [3]

In San Diego on 13 June, there were 60 arrests and 15 injured during disturbances. In Tucson, Arizona on 14 June, an attempt by 300 youths to storm the gates led to police using tear gas . [4] On 16 June, after the Denver shows, in a hotel suite, Stephen Stills and Keith Richards drew knives in an argument. [5] While in Chicago for three appearances on 19 and 20 June, the group stayed at Hugh Hefner 's original Playboy Mansion in the Gold Coast district. [6] Eighty-one people were arrested at the two sellout Houston shows on 25 June, mostly for marijuana possession and other minor drug offences. [7] There were 61 arrests in the large crowd at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. , on the Fourth of July . [8]

On 13 July police had to block 2,000 ticket-less fans from trying to gain access to the show in Detroit . [9] On 17 July at the Montreal Forum a bomb blew up in the Stones' equipment van, and replacement gear had to be flown in; then it was discovered that 3,000 forged tickets had been sold, causing a fan riot and a late start to the concert. [3] The next day, 18 July, the Stones' entourage got into a fight with photographer Andy Dickerman in Rhode Island , and Jagger and Richards landed in jail, imperilling that night's show at the Boston Garden . Boston Mayor Kevin White , fearful of a riot if the show were cancelled, intervened to bail them out; the show went on, albeit with another late start. Dickerman would later file a £22,230 lawsuit against the band. [10]

The tour ended with four shows over three consecutive nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden , the first night of which saw 10 arrests and two policemen injured, [11] and the last leading to confrontations between the crowd outside Madison Square Garden and the police. [12] The last show on 26 July, Jagger's 29th birthday, had balloons and confetti falling from Madison Square Garden's ceiling and Jagger blowing the candles off a huge cake. Pies were also wheeled in, leading to a pie fight between the Rolling Stones and the audience. [12]

Following the final performance, a party was held in Jagger's honor by Ahmet Ertegun at the St. Regis New York . Guests included Bob Dylan , Woody Allen , Andy Warhol , the Capote entourage, and Zsa Zsa Gabor , while the Count Basie Orchestra provided musical entertainment. At the event, Dylan characterized the tour as "encompassing" and "the beginning of cosmic consciousness." [13]

Rock critic Robert Christgau reported that the mood of the shows was friendly, with Jagger "undercut[ting] his fabled demonism by playing the clown, the village idiot, the marionette." [14]

The official name of the tour was 'American Tour 1972'. The tour is also known as the "Stones Touring Party", shortened to S.T.P., [1] derived from the laminates handed out by the management to crew, family, friends and press, granting access to the various areas at the concert venues and hotels. [ citation needed ] In 2015 Jose Cuervo in association with the Rolling Stones launched a brand of tequila with a marketing campaign based on one of the nicknames of the American Tour being the "Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour". [15]

Several writers were assigned to cover the tour. Truman Capote was commissioned to write a travelogue for Rolling Stone . Accompanied by prominent New York socialites Lee Radziwill and Peter Beard , Capote did not mesh well with the group; he and his entourage abandoned the tour in New Orleans , before resurfacing for the final shows at Madison Square Garden. [16] Having struggled with writer's block since the publication of In Cold Blood in 1966, he failed to complete his feature, tentatively titled "It Will Soon Be Here." Rolling Stone ultimately recouped its stake by assigning Andy Warhol to interview Capote about the tour in 1973. In the interview, Capote alleged that tour doctor Laurence Badgley (a 1968 graduate of the Yale School of Medicine who was later retained by Led Zeppelin for their 1977 North American tour ) [17] had a "super- Lolita complex" and initiated the statutory rape of a high school student (also filmed by Robert Frank ) on the band's business jet during a flight to Washington, D.C. [18]

Terry Southern , a close friend of Keith Richards since the late 1960s, wrote about the tour for Saturday Review in what proved to be one of his last major journalistic assignments. Southern and Beard developed a friendship on the tour and collaborated intermittently on The End of the Game (an unfilmed screenplay) for over two decades.

Robert Greenfield 's S.T.P.: A Journey Through America With The Rolling Stones (derived from his tour reportage for Rolling Stone ) was published in 1974. Greenfield had already covered the band's 1971 British Tour for Rolling Stone and was granted unlimited access to the band's affairs. Although Greenfield was initially assigned as the magazine's sole correspondent for the tour before a last-minute deal was reached with Capote, he was permitted to continue in his assignment, paralleling Hunter S. Thompson and Timothy Crouse 's two-pronged coverage of the contemporaneous 1972 United States presidential election for the magazine.

Dick Cavett hosted a one-hour special shot before the concluding New York engagement of performances. Capote appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and several other talk shows, talking about his experiences on the tour. New York radio host Alex Bennett reported on the first Madison Square Garden show as soon as he got back from it.

No live album was released from the tour at the time, although one was planned as far as having a front and back cover designed and studio touch-ups being made on several recorded tracks. Eventually, the album was shelved due to contractual disputes with Allen Klein .

Two films of the tour were produced. The concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones ! only saw a limited theatrical release in 1974. Aside from an Australian VHS release in the early 1980s, it was not officially available on home video until 2010. The film's complete soundtrack was released as an album by Eagle Records/Universal in 2017.

Robert Frank's Cocksucker Blues is a documentary shot in cinéma vérité style; several cameras were available for anyone in the entourage to pick up and start shooting backstage parties, drug use, [19] and roadie and groupie antics, [20] including a groupie in a hotel room injecting heroin. [21] The film came under a court order which forbade it from being shown other than in very restricted circumstances. The film has since surfaced online in various bootlegged versions of varying quality. [19] [22]

Stevie Wonder was the support act for the tour. Having released his groundbreaking Music of My Mind album in March 1972, Wonder would go on to release another epochal album ( Talking Book ) by year's end. [23] This placement, along with his hard-edged hit " Superstition " (released in October 1972), did much to increase Wonder's visibility to rock audiences. He and his band would also sometimes join the Stones at the end of the group's performance for an encore medley of Wonder's 1966 hit " Uptight (Everything's Alright) " and " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction ".

The standard set list for the tour was:

• " Brown Sugar "
• " Rocks Off "
• " Gimme Shelter "
• " Tumbling Dice "
• " Love in Vain "
• " Sweet Virginia "
• " You Can't Always Get What You Want "
• " All Down the Line "
• " Midnight Rambler "
• " Bye Bye Johnny "
• " Rip This Joint "
• " Jumpin' Jack Flash "
• " Street Fighting Man "
• Encore: often none, sometimes " Honky Tonk Women ", a few times " Uptight (Everything's Alright) " / " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "

Additional songs performed:

• " Loving Cup " (Vancouver, 3 June; both shows in Seattle, 4 June; Winterland in San Francisco, 8 June, second show)
• " Ventilator Blues " (only on opening night in Vancouver, 3 June)
• " Torn and Frayed " (only on opening night in Vancouver, 3 June)
• " Dead Flowers " (only in Fort Worth, 24 June, first show)
• " Sweet Black Angel " (only in Fort Worth, 24 June, first show)
• " Don't You Lie to Me " (only in Fort Worth, 24 June, second show)

The exact number of setlist variations are subject to ongoing research. Notably absent was anything from before 1968 in the Stones' catalog save for the occasional presence of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". This tour also marked the banishment of " Sympathy for the Devil ", which had been wrongly associated with the killing at Altamont , from the band's American performances for much of the 1970s.

The tour grossed a then-record of $4 million (US$ 27,984,089 in 2022 dollars). [24] [25] Although each band member netted roughly $250,000 (equivalent to $1.4 million today), Jagger was dissatisfied when he learned that Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant had secured a then-unprecedented 90/10 split of gross receipts in the group's favor on its contemporaneous North American tour . [26]

Related Research Articles

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. During their formative years, Jones was the primary leader: he assembled the band, named it, and drove their sound and image. After Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager in 1963, he encouraged them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the primary creative force behind the band, alienating Jones, who had developed a drug addiction that interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully.

Sir Michael Philip Jagger is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership with Keith Richards is one of the most successful in history. Jagger's career has spanned over six decades, and he has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock music. His distinctive voice and energetic live performances, along with Richards' guitar style, have been the Rolling Stones' trademark throughout the band's career. Jagger gained notoriety for his romantic involvements, illicit drug use, and has often been portrayed as a countercultural figure.

" Street Fighting Man " is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrumentation contributed by Brian Jones, which has led to it being characterized as a Raga rock song. It also features controversial and ambiguous lyrics about armed revolution. In the United States, it was released as a single in August 1968, while it was not released in the United Kingdom until four months later on the Beggars Banquet album, where it opened side two. The B-side of the American single featured "No Expectations", considered one of the final Stones tracks in which founding member Jones played a significant role in its construction.

Cocksucker Blues is an unreleased documentary film directed by the still photographer Robert Frank chronicling The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St.

Michael Kevin Taylor is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on: Let It Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974).

Sticky Fingers is the 9th British and 11th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca Records and London Records in the UK and the US since 1963. On this album Mick Taylor made his second full-length appearance on a Rolling Stones album. It was the first studio album without Brian Jones who died two years earlier. The original cover artwork, conceived by Andy Warhol and photographed and designed by members of his art collective, The Factory, showed a picture of a man in tight jeans, and had a working zip that opened to reveal underwear fabric. The cover was expensive to produce and damaged the vinyl record, so the size of the zipper adjustment was made by John Kosh at Abcko records. Later re-issues featured just the outer photograph of the jeans.

" Brown Sugar " is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted at number two. In the United States, Billboard ranked it as the number 16 song for 1971.

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert is the second live album by the Rolling Stones, released on 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York City and Baltimore in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed . It is the first live album to reach number 1 in the UK. It was reported to have been issued in response to the well known bootleg Live'r Than You'll Ever Be . This was also the band's final release under the Decca record label and not under their own label Rolling Stones Records.

Love You Live is a double live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977. It is the band's third official full-length live release and is dedicated to the memory of audio engineer Keith Harwood, who died in a car accident shortly before the album's release. It's also the band's first live album with Ronnie Wood.

Robert Henry Keys was an American saxophonist who performed as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Nilsson, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and other prominent musicians. Keys played on hundreds of recordings and was a touring musician from 1956 until his death in 2014.

"Sweet Virginia", a slow country-inspired song, was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It is the sixth track on the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album Exile On Main St. .

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The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels ; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo, was called the Urban Jungle Tour ; it ran from May to August 1990. These would be the last live concerts for the band with original member Bill Wyman on bass guitar. This tour would also be the longest the band had ever done up to that point, playing over twice as many shows as their standard tour length from the 1960s and 1970s.

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• ↑ Marsh, Dave (1987). Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s . Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-394-54668-7 . p. 15
• 1 2 "Rolling through scandal" . The Vancouver Sun . 2 April 2008 . Retrieved 2 December 2013 .
• ↑ "50 Greatest Concerts in San Diego History 1917 - 2005 | San Diego Reader" . Sandiegoreader.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ "Chronicle 1972" . Timeisonourside.com . Retrieved 12 November 2019 .
• ↑ Greenfield, Robert (3 August 1972). "The Rolling Stones Go South" . Rollingstone.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ J. R. Gonzales (13 April 2013). "By popular demand: The 1972 Rolling Stones concert" . Bayou City History . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ "Goodbye, RFK - Raw Fisher" . Archived from the original on 5 December 2013 . Retrieved 3 December 2013 .
• ↑ "Rolling Stones Bring Havoc to Cobo" . Stoneslib7.homestead.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ Stones Tour: All Ends Well Despite Bust, Bomb , Rolling Stone
• ↑ "Memorable Performances from Madison Square Garden «   WCBS-FM 101.1" . Archived from the original on 27 August 2017 . Retrieved 3 December 2013 .
• 1 2 "The Sun - Google News Archive Search" . News.google.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ Greenfield, Robert (8 July 2013). Stones Touring Party: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones . ISBN   9781781311998 .
• ↑ Robert Christgau , "The Rolling Stones", entry in The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll , Random House, 1980. p. 200
• ↑ Douglas Quenqua (15 September 2015). "Everything wrong with Jose Cuervo's new Rolling Stones ad" . Campaign Live .
• ↑ Davis, Stephen (11 December 2001). Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones . ISBN   9780767909563 .
• ↑ "Laurence Badgley, M.D.   : Medical Director at Natural Rx" . Linkedin.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ Wenner, Jann S. (November 2007). The Rolling Stone Interviews . ISBN   9780316023139 .
• 1 2 "The Trouble With 'Cocksucker Blues' " . Rolling Stone Magazine. 3 November 1977 . Retrieved 2 June 2012 .
• ↑ Fricke, David (20 November 2012). "The Greatest Rolling Stones Movie You've Never Seen: 'Cocksucker Blues' " . Rolling Stone Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012 . Retrieved 2 June 2012 .
• ↑ Doyle, Patrick (26 October 2009). "Rolling Stones' Controversial Tour Documentary "Cocksucker Blues" Screens in New York" . Rolling Stone Magazine . Retrieved 2 June 2013 .
• ↑ "The Rolling Stones: Cocksucker Blues (1972)" . IMDb.com . Retrieved 3 May 2022 .
• ↑ "The 10 Best Opening Acts in Rock History – 9. The Rolling Stones/Stevie Wonder (1972)" . Rolling Stone . 11 July 2012.
• ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society . 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF) . American Antiquarian Society . 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved 28 May 2023 .
• ↑ Wyman, Bill (2002). Rolling With the Stones . Dorling Kindersley. p.   398. ISBN   0-7513-4646-2 .
• ↑ Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones . Crown. 11 December 2001. ISBN   9780767909563 .
• Greenfield, Robert. S.T.P.: A Journey Through America With The Rolling Stones . Reissued Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN   0-306-81199-5
• Carr, Roy . The Rolling Stones: An Illustrated Record . Harmony Books, 1976. ISBN   0-517-52641-7
• Harold Colson's historical research site

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The Rolling Stones tour the US – archive

28 June 1972: The Rolling Stones toured America to wild acclaim in 1969. Geoffrey Cannon describes the impact of their return visit

KSAN FM RADIO, San Francisco , ran a competition to give away tickets to the Rolling Stones’ concert at Winterland. The prize was to go to the most imaginative answer to the question: what would you do to get a pair of Rolling Stones tickets? The winner, a man, said: “Shave off all the hair on my body, and smoke it.”

Inside Winterland, after Stevie Wonder had wound up his support act, roadies roll back a carpet on-stage. Underneath there’s revealed a double serpent, in green and yellow, covering an area the size of two boxing rings laid side by side. The tongues of the serpents extend mid-stage, so that Jagger will sing within their painted flicker.

In this circus, the audience also perform. Looking round, there’s a girl styled like Nina Simone; another like Janis Joplin. A man wears a Jimi Hendrix hat, with Curtis Mayfield glasses. Another is styled like Dr John, in white robes, a white fur hat, and a stick. Another, like Alice Cooper, make-up starred round his eyes, T-shirt slashed down his torso. Another, like Randy Newman. Another like Jesus, another like Angela Davis. In front of me, a man wears coveralls stamped “City Transfer United Van Lines,” which in this company appears to be the wildest legend of all; until I guess he really is a van driver, for the Stones’ equipment.

Winterland used to be the home of the Ice Follies. Most of the audience will have gone there with their parents years ago. The auditorium is the size of a hangar. Thirty feet above the stage, banks of coloured lights beam down; and eight shafts of white light, from 50 yards in front of the stage, focus on the spot between the serpents’ tongues. Way above the stage, a vast banner displays the Stones’ insignia: a red tongue, stuck out. In this flux of impressions, the band walks on, and Mick sings.

He’s wearing dark-spotted silver satin trousers, a thick waistband of red and blue, spangles on his neck and temples, a silver-laced vest. Jim Price and Bobby Keyes, playing horns, roar out the chorus (this is “Bitch,” from the album “Sticky Fingers”), and the concrete floor shivers beneath my feet.

The Stones were back performing in San Francisco for the first time in two and a half years. Last time 300,000 people (the population of San Francisco is under a million) had gone to see them 50 miles east of Berkeley, at Altamont Speedway . The morning of the Winterland concert, the newspaper carried a Reuters report of the first concert of the 1972 tour. “Vancouver. Thirty-one policemen were injured on Saturday night as they battled a crowd of 2,000 rock and fire-bomb throwing youths unable to get into a Rolling Stones concert.”

What did Mick Jagger himself want of the tour? “Who wants 300,000 people going potty?” he said. And, talking of violent audience response: “I was really ill at ease. I wasn’t ready for all the people jumping all over the stage. I’m being all serious, and we’re trying to play and sing as well as we can.”

Back in Winterland Mick hunches into the microphone, left finger wagging, his voice piercing, at the top of its range, the words of “Gimme Shelter,” the anthem of Altamont, blurred but known by heart.

“Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away.”

The words of the songs, almost indecipherable, hover on the edge of sense. Jagger’s voice sneers and slurs. Side-stage, in darkness sometimes lightened as the spotlights shift, people dance, dream-like, solitary, many half naked, eyes clenched shut. They bob and circle each other.

Heat, lights, sound, begin to melt us in Winterland. A physical thrill, as the band starts up on the killer of the new album, “All Down The Line.” Everyone starts clapping, hands above their heads. The album has only been out for three weeks, and yet everyone knows the song. Mick described the song to me. “I saw it as this railway, and then it widened out. Now it had all these women working and crying. The railway became a railway of life.”

“All down the line We’re gonna open up the throttle, yeah All down the line We’re gonna bust another bottle, yeah.”

The sound can’t be louder. Mick drops to the floor, crawls around, mike in one hand, belt in the other, to disjointed cries from the audience, starting up “Midnight Rambler,” ambiguous between absurdity and hurt.

The band winds up behind him, with the force of a locomotive, and hurtles into “Rip This Joint,” the Stones’ celebration of American speed. The temperature is up in the nineties now, with the maximum humidity of 8,000 sweating people. After Winterland, there were to be fights in Long Beach, San Diego, and Tucson, as people struggled to get in and experience the Stones. Mick was being a star the hard way: putting himself up front, as he’s done hundreds of times.

All the time, Mick Jagger’s international Raree Show is asking the question, what are the limits? Mick Jagger’s answer is, that he has no idea either. Except that over the years he’s stretched limits in just one area, that of taste, and he’s still stunned to discover just how many people are impressed. The show ended, encore aside, with the song in which he asks himself the question: “Street Fighting Man”:

“Hey! Said my name is called Disturbance I’ll shout and scream, I’ll kill the King I’ll rail at all his servants. Well, what can a poor boy do ‘Cept sing for a rock ‘n’ roll band?”

He brings a box on stage, squats, takes fistfuls of rose petals, kisses them, throws them to the crowd. He whirls and whirls round, bows, and jumps, his iridescent shirt now torn at the shoulder. Through the solid applause, after the band have left the stage, the PA system plays “Greensleeves,” and we all file out.

This article was part of a full page of coverage to celebrate the Stones’ US tour. Read the full coverage , including a backstage diary and an interview with record producer Jimmy Miller.

• The Rolling Stones
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The Rolling Stones’ legendary 1972 American Tour: The epitome of sex, drugs and rock & roll

• Updated: Feb. 16, 2021, 9:17 a.m. |
• Published: Feb. 16, 2021, 7:26 a.m.

Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones were the biggest band in the world int he 1970s. Getty Images

• Troy L. Smith, Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Nearly 50 years ago, The Rolling Stones changed the music industry with the scale, musicality and mayhem of their 1972 American Tour. That amazing run, which included a stop at the now-defunct Akron Rubber Bowl, is the subject of our latest episode of the CLE Rocks podcast .

Listen to CLE Rocks on Acast , Apple , Spotify and iHeartRadio .

CLE Rocks looks back at the legendary tours that came through Northeast Ohio. The Rolling Stones’ 1972 track certainly fits the bill. The media followed the Stones’ every move in 1972, as the band put on some of the greatest live performances in music history, capped by a four-night stand at Madison Square Garden and Mick Jagger’s 29th birthday celebration.

There were just two outdoor shows on the band’s 1972 excursion and one of them was at the Akron Rubber Bowl with Stevie Wonder as the opening act. The Rubber Bowl featured a collection of incredible acts that summer, including Faces, Black Sabbath, Eagles and The Allman Brothers Band. But none were bigger than the Stones.

Catch up on all of our episodes of CLE Rocks, below (Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button and leave a review):

• Bruce Springsteen’s 1978 Darkness Tour
• Led Zeppelin’s 1977 “Destroyer” concert at Richfield Coliseum
• Chuck Berry and the 1986 Moondog Coronation Ball II
• Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock ’94
• B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix’s 1968 “King’s Jam”

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New Book Focuses on the Rolling Stones’ 1972 ‘Exile’ U.S. Tour

That year saw the Rolling Stones performing on American soil for the first time since December 1969, playing 48 shows in 32 cities in 54 days . The book includes previously unpublished eyewitness accounts of the tour, from opening night in Vancouver to the tour finale (and Mick Jagger’s 29th birthday) at Madison Square Garden.

The book’s author, rock historian Richard Houghton, said, “The insider’s take on this tour was covered extensively at the time, while filmmaker Robert Frank captured some of the madness on celluloid in Cocksucker Blues , which the Stones ensured never got a full cinematic release. But the other story, from the viewpoint of the fans, has never been told before. Until now.”

“Mick got very enamored. ‘It’s finished! It’s going to be the single!’” Johns said. “I thought, ‘This isn’t really a single.’ I remember going out and talking to him and he was playing the piano. ‘Mick, this isn’t a single. It doesn’t compare to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or “Street Fighting Man.”’ He went, ‘Really? Do you think so?’ I thought, ‘My God. He’s actually listening to me.’ I told Mick, ‘I can’t hear it here. If I could hear it on the radio that would be nice.’ It was just a fantasy. Mick said, ‘Oh, we can do that.’ [They sent] Stew [pianist Ian Stewart] to the nearest FM radio station with the tape and said we’d like to hear it over the radio.

“Sure enough, we were on Sunset Strip and Keith is in one seat, and I’m in the back where the speakers are with Mick, and Charlie [Watts] is in there, too, just because he was bored (laughs). Mick’s got the radio on and the DJ comes on the air: ‘We’re so lucky tonight. We’re the first people to play the new Stones’ record.’ And it came on the radio and the speakers in this car were kind of shot. I still couldn’t tell. And it finishes.

Related: Behind the cover art for Exile on Main Street

“Then Mick turns around. ‘So?’ ‘I’m still not sure, man.’ I’m still not used to these speakers.’ ‘Oh, we’ll have him play it again then.’ Poor Stew. ‘Have them play it again,’ like they were some sort of radio service. It was surreal.” Exile turned out to be a great collection of music, and I think it was good that it was a double album. Some people say it should have been a single album but you get the feeling of what they were going through of the time and the confusion and the angst and the joy and the drugs [when] they moved out of England. There were a lot of emotions. It was heads down and work.

“My job on Exile on Main Street was to get the music out,” explained Marshall Chess, in a 2010 telephone interview. Chess was president of Rolling Stones Records from 1970-1978, and worked closely with the group. “It holds up very well. There’s alchemy there that made it a great record. I didn’t encourage them to make  Exile  a double album,” he added, “but I encouraged them to keep recording. Exile on Main Street  is the greatest.”

Watch the Stones perform “Brown Sugar” live in 1972

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I worked on 34th st across from MSG in 72. Got 4 tickets to see R.Stones in thier prime. Also impressed with the large funky Stevie Wonder band as opener. Tickets $7.50 on the floor. Those were the days !

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Looking back at the rolling stones, live in texas 1972.

A still from Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones shows Mick Jagger performing in Texas in 1972. hide caption

A still from Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones shows Mick Jagger performing in Texas in 1972.

Of the films that feature The Rolling Stones in concert, there are two that matter. One is Gimme Shelter , but that Altamont documentary isn't really about the Stones, is it? The other one was more talked about than seen over the years, but you can finally enjoy Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones on your own flat-screen TV rather than in the hit-and-miss quadraphonic setup in which it was originally released in a few theaters.

But wait — what about Martin Scorsese's 2008 Stones movie, Shine a Light , certainly the most cinematically rich documentary of the band? I think the difference between Ladies and Gentlemen and Shine a Light is captured in a moment before the music even starts. In Shine a Light, Bill and Hillary Clinton greet the band before the show — and, in fact, the two performances were a benefit for the ex-president's AIDS Foundation and a celebration of his 60th birthday.

Music Interviews

The rolling stones' keith richards looks back at 'life'.

It's hard to get across what a scandal it would have been in 1972 if any high government official, let alone an ex-president, had such an intimate public connection with a Rolling Stones concert. Yes, presidents are more comfortable with rock 'n' roll these days, but the Stones are fundamentally transformed: They're not dangerous anymore. And all the fancy camera angles and inspired lighting and steely professionalism in Scorsese's movie can't make up for that. When Mick Jagger performs "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in Ladies and Gentlemen , he's not merely invoking a world-famous rock 'n' roll classic — he's incarnating it.

Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones reflects an early-days concept of what a rock show should be — an almost punk-like spareness to the stage set, 15 songs in a punchy 82 minutes, and a furious, almost deranged set of final numbers. It's also clear by now that this was the most varied and cohesive set of players for the group — the sidemen were Bobby Keys on saxophone, Jim Price on horns and Nicky Hopkins on piano. But the crucial regular band member was guitarist Mick Taylor, looking like a pre-Raphaelite cherub dropped into a nest of gargoyles. Unlike his ultimate replacement, Ron Wood, Taylor did not sound or solo like Keith Richards — he was gritty enough, but also a subtle, lyrical bluesman.

For The Rolling Stones, I think the most fundamental change of all since 1972 is that bluesmen aren't what they used to be. Once, the blues was the voice of outsiders who wouldn't sugarcoat love or tell you lies about work and success. Because the Stones were bold when they turned the language of blues-based rock to contemporary youth and events, they seemed like fearless, ravaged realists. But if the Stones never became aristocrats, they did become plutocrats and supreme show-biz insiders.

The blues faded as a living music language, and though they tried and tried and searched everywhere, the Stones never found as durable a style as the blues to tell hard truths or at least deliver indelible threats like "Midnight Rambler." But in Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Rolling Stones , Mick, Keith and the boys were fluent in the blues like nobody else.

For established pop-music icons, the Stones have been uncommonly reluctant to look back. By all accounts, the big impediment is Jagger, who feels the vintage material doesn't meet his standards. This release of Ladies and Gentlemen includes a new interview with Jagger in which he grants his seal of approval, saying the band sounds on and together. The cagey old codger is underselling a masterpiece.

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All songs considered blog, keith richards, don was share memories of 'exile on main street', keith richards: an 'exile' in france, music interviews & profiles, wait, keith richards is 65, mick jagger: a stone alone, arts & life, the stones defiant: 'a bigger bang'.

• The Rolling Stones

1972: The year that rocked the Rubber Bowl

Fifty years ago, Akron rocked.

Belkin Productions of Cleveland scheduled a major series of concerts at the Rubber Bowl in 1972. 

More: ‘School’s Out’ forever: Alice Cooper original drummer Neal Smith recalls Akron and anthem

It was the greatest summer in Akron rock history — unless you happened to be an Akron cop working security or a neighbor trying to sleep. The concerts featured many acts destined for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame .

It’s still hard to believe that The Rolling Stones played in Akron with Stevie Wonder as the opening act.

Jules and Mike Belkin leased the 35,000-seat arena from the University of Akron, which received a $2,000 rental fee plus rights to concessions and parking.

The nine concerts averaged about 20,000 people and created massive traffic jams. In many cases, fans camped overnight for the general-admission shows.

It was a groovy scene. Shaggy-haired concertgoers filled the stands and boogied past midnight. Loud music wafted through the air along with the sweet smell of cannabis. 

Instead of a private security force, the promoters hired more than 100 off-duty Akron police. The officers weren’t fans of rock music. Or cannabis. Tensions boiled over.

Neighbors complained about the noise. Akron officials threatened to ban rock shows.

For those in the stadium, though, it was a summer to remember.

June 16, 1972: Three Dog Night with James Gang

Tickets: $5 in advance, $7 at door. Estimated crowd: 12,000.

The concert series started innocuously enough. It was a chilly night, and many fans huddled under blankets.

Three Dog Night , featuring Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron, didn’t take the stage until 10:45 p.m. The group performed several hits, including “Celebrate,” “Joy to the World,” “Liar,” “Black and White,” “Never Been to Spain” and “One.” 

NBC recorded the set for a radio broadcast to air that summer.

Cleveland’s own James Gang , featuring Dale Peters and Jim Fox, served as the opener and played such hits as “Funk #49” and “Walk Away.” Fans expecting to see guitar hero Joe Walsh were surprised to learn that he had quit the band.

Beacon Journal reviewer John Von Rhein wasn’t impressed with either group. 

“Predictable, formula-ridden stuff, short on originality and invention, long on monotonous textures and banal, repetitive rhythms,” he sniffed. 

July 3, 1972: Faces, Badfinger and Cactus

Tickets: $5 in advance, $7 at door.  Estimated crowd: 17,000.

Things began to get rowdy with this one.

Faces, featuring Rod Stewart , Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones, did a headlining set that included “Stay with Me” and “I’m Losing You.”

Welsh rockers Badfinger, featuring Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland, performed such hits as “Day After Day” and “No Matter What.”

Cactus was the opening act, but it also was the handle of an illegal ham radio operator, presumably an irate neighbor, who cut into the Rubber Bowl staff’s walkie-talkies and gave false orders to electricians to turn on the stadiums lights as Faces played. The band was mystified.

About 25 fans tried to crash a gate without tickets around 11 p.m. Police fired tear gas to quell the disturbance, but some of the gas drifted into the stadium. 

Nine people were hurt, six people were arrested.

“Rock concerts have no place in the city of Akron,” Councilman William Grimm fumed. “They are creating problems we don’t need and costing the taxpayers more than they realize in police overtime.”

July 11, 1972: The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder

Tickets: $5.50 in advance, $6.50 at door. Estimated crowd: 50,000.

Arguably, it was the greatest concert ever held in Akron. The sold-out concert stretched the stadium’s capacity. Thousands of people had camped overnight in the woods or slept in cars.

Anticipation built all day for the 8:30 p.m. show. Fans lined up for hours in the hot sun.

As the music started, a 10-minute melee erupted. Concertgoers threw bottles at police as they tried to arrest a youth on drug charges. Seven cops were hurt. Nearly 30 fans were arrested.

As calm was restored, Wonder, 22, delivered an energetic opening set with such songs as “For Once in My Life,” “If You Really Love Me,” “My Cherie Amour,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “Superstition” and “Uptight.”

The Rolling Stones — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts — took the stage to thunderous applause.

Clad in a blue jacket, purple pants, neck scarf and floor-length sash, Jagger, 28, bowed to the audience and thanked fans for “coming all the way to ‘Ack-RON.’ ”

The British rockers played such hits as “Jumping Jack Flash,” “Gimme Shelter,” You Can’t Always Get Way You Want,” “Brown Sugar” and “Satisfaction.” 

“The Stones' Akron appearance was probably not the most transcendent, electrifying performance on their tour — the Rubber Bowl’s enormous scale tends to dissipate the nervous energy and the sense of intimacy that the group generates,” Beacon Journal reviewer William Bierman wrote.

“But the audience clearly got its money’s worth in a smooth production.” 

The night ended with spectacular fireworks.

July 17, 1972: Black Sabbath, Humble Pie, Edgar Winter, Ramatam.

Tickets: $4.50 in advance, $6.50 at door. Estimated crowd: 18,000.

In retrospect, it was a mistake to schedule four bands for an 8 p.m. show. There was no way it was going to end in time.

Rescheduled from a June 24 rainout, the show began as scheduled but electrical problems caused delays. Opening act Ramatam filled in for Groundhogs, which canceled at the last minute.

Edgar Winter played “Free Ride” and “Frankenstein.” Humble Pie , led by Steve Marriott, started late and cranked out “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and “Up Our Sleeve.”

More than 100 people called police about the noise.

Black Sabbath , featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, didn’t show up until AFTER the midnight fireworks. It’s a little hazy, but the English band is believed to have played “Iron Man,” “Paranoid” and a few other songs.

Rubber Bowl management cut the power at 1:15 a.m. on Black Sabbath.

“I apologize to the surrounding community,” promoter Mike Belkin said before donating $1,000 to the Akron Police Department Benevolent Fund.

July 21, 1972: The Osmond Brothers with Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods

Tickets: $5 in advance, $7 at door. Estimated crowd: 20,000.

Maybe those hippie concerts weren’t so dangerous after all.

“We want the Osmonds!” the crowd chanted.

A high-pitched, ear-splitting wail — something like “Eeeeeeeeeee!” — filled the Rubber Bowl when Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Donny Osmond appeared onstage in white, studded jumpsuits and trademark scarves.

Young girls screamed, cried and lost their minds.

The teen idols regaled the teeny-boppers with a cavalcade of hits, including “One Bad Apple,” “Yo-Yo,” “Down by the Lazy River” and “Puppy Love.” Little brother Jimmy Osmond sang “Long Haired Lover From Liverpool.”

And then things got scary.

The crowd surged. Girls passed out against the stage. Stadium workers carried kids backstage to be revived. 

The group halted the show to get fans to back up. Sister Marie Osmond and her mother, Olive, helped the medical staff tend to the unconscious fans.

As the Osmonds took their bows, frenzied girls tried to push through a fence.

At least 18 girls were treated at hospitals that night. Luckily, the most serious injuries were a broken arm and a broken leg.

“Now that is one concert I will never forget,” Donny Osmond told a fan decades later. “When you say Akron, I think of that nightmare Rubber Bowl concert.”

Aug. 5, 1972: Alice Cooper, J. Geils Band and Dr. John

Tickets: $4.50 advance, $6.50 at door. Estimated crowd: 20,000.

On this night, the most shocking acts were onstage.

Alice Cooper , riding the success of the smash hit “School’s Out,” stormed the stadium. It was a happy homecoming for guitarist Glen Buxton and Neal Smith, both from Akron.  

Lead singer Alice Cooper, wearing ghoulish makeup, a black leotard, silver vest and an occasionally a live boa constrictor, meted out such hits as “I’m Eighteen,” “Killer” and “Under My Wheels.” The encore, of course, was “School’s Out.”

The theatrical show included Cooper climbing the gallows for a mock execution.

New Orleans pianist Dr. John, the opening act, was promoting an album of cover tunes. Boston’s J. Geils Band, featuring J. Geils, Peter Wolf, Danny Klein, Stephen Jo Bladd, Magic Dick and Seth Justman, was promoting a live album.

Wolf revved up the crowd by riding a Harley-Davidson onto the stage.

But Alice Cooper was the big draw. Reviewer William Bierman described the act as “extra-heavy, frantic acid rock.”

“Among the gimmicks perhaps most commendable was the lighting,” Bierman noted. “The musicians were bathed in deep hues of green, blue, magenta and yellow, which pulsed and changed with the music.”

Best of all: No violence … offstage anyway.

Aug. 11, 1972: Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra and The Eagles

Tickets: $4.50 in advance, $5.50 at door. Estimated crowd: 20,000.

This was a strange triple bill, wasn’t it? Progressive rock, jazz fusion and California rock.

The English band Yes , featuring Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White, was riding the crest of popularity with its hit “Roundabout.”

English guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin led Mahavishnu Orchestra, a group known for superb musicianship and intricate arrangements.

The Eagles were a new act. Featuring Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon, the U.S. group’s debut album had the hits “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman.”

The concert was delayed because of electrical problems: Someone had cut the wires to the amplifiers. A cranky neighbor, perhaps?

Noise complaints flooded the police department.

At midnight, Mayor John Ballard ordered officers to pull the curtain on Yes.

“I told them to cut the concert off,” Ballard said.

Aug. 20, 1972: Chicago

Tickets: $5 in advance, $6 at door. Estimated crowd: 19,200.

After the Allman Brothers Band canceled an Aug. 18 show, Chicago was the next headliner. A storm had forced the band to reschedule from July 9.

There was no opening act.

The seven-piece band featured guitarist-vocalist Terry Kath, keyboardist-vocalist Robert Lamm, bassist-vocalist Peter Cetera, drummer Danny Seraphine, saxophonist Walter Parazaider, trombonist James Pankow and trumpeter Lee Loughnane.

The group played a two-hour set that included the crowd-pleasing hits “Beginnings,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Make Me Smile,” “Colour My World,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “25 or 6 to 4.”

Fireworks capped off the evening. 

“Chicago puts enough into one two-hour performance without asking for another hour,” Beacon Journal reviewer Jack Kresnak wrote.

“Besides, even if they did want to play an encore, which judging by their obvious pleasure with the Rubber Bowl crowd seems probable, the promoters wouldn’t let them because the police wouldn’t let them because the mayor wouldn’t let them because the citizens wouldn’t let them.”

Overall, the concert went off without a hitch.

The same cannot be said for the next show.

Aug. 21, 1972: Jefferson Airplane with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

Tickets: $5 in advance, $6 at door. Estimated crowd: 19,000.

The University of Akron had reseeded the football field that day and fans were told to stay in the stands. Nobody listened.

Opening act Commander Cody, best known for a cover of “Hot Rod Lincoln,” urged concertgoers to dance in front of the stage, and they happily obliged.

When darkness fell, hooligans began to throw rocks and bottles at some of the 80 officers providing security. At least 20 cops were hit and nine were hurt. Police fired tear gas. Nearly 30 fans were arrested.

Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, 32, belting out songs such as “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” noticed the disturbance and encouraged fans to fight.

Police halted the show at 11:30 p.m. after someone called in a bomb threat.

The group’s equipment manager got into an altercation with officers, prompting Slick and bandmate Paul Kantner to join the fray. They were jailed on charges of assaulting an officer before posting bond at 1 a.m.

Slick and Kantner later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of obstruction, paid $50 fines and pledged to stay out of Akron for three years.

That was the grand finale of the 1972 rock series.

Belkin Productions decided not to bring concerts to the Rubber Bowl the next summer.

The opinions of the community were reflected in two letters to the Beacon Journal.

“I feel so sorry for the kids who believe the noise they listen to is music,” Cuyahoga Falls resident Lois Siegenthaler wrote. “I am so happy that when I was young I was able to enjoy real artistry in music. We didn’t have to be stoned on pot or other drugs to enjoy our music. Let’s get back to those beautiful sounds of yesterday.”

“I would like to thank Jules Belkin for finally bringing Akron to life,” Debbie Barle wrote. “My summer would have been a total bummer without these concerts. Mr. Belkin blessed us with some of the finest rock concerts and music ever.”

Mark J. Price can be reached at [email protected].

More: Helloooo, Akron: Ten concerts that rocked the 1970s

More: Akron native’s song ‘Walk Like an Egyptian,’ a smash hit for The Bangles, is still catchy after 35 years

The Rolling Stones have announced they are going back on the road with a brand-new tour performing in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada. Fans can expect to experience Mick, Keith and Ronnie play their most popular hits ranging from “Start Me Up,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Satisfaction” and more, as well as fan favourite deep cuts and music from their new album HACKNEY DIAMONDS.

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Deep Purple announces 2024 tour with Yes. Get tickets today

In 1972, Deep Purple released the iconic “Smoke On The Water.”

Now, 52 years (!) later, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will celebrate their mega hit on their ‘1 More Time Tour’ with fellow Rock Hall inductees Yes all summer long.

Along the way, Ian Gillan and co. are scheduled to make five New York and New Jersey stops.

First, the heavy hitmakers drop into Camden, NJ’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on Friday, Aug. 30.

After that, the London natives swoop into Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center on Aug. 31, Wantagh, NY’s Jones Beach Theater on Sept. 1 and Saratoga Springs, NY’s Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Sept. 4.

Deep Purple closes their NY run at Bethel’s Bethel Woods Center For The Arts on Sept. 6.

For fans that can’t wait to rock out to “Hush,” “Highway Star,” “Space Truckin'” — and of course “Smoke On The Water” — tickets for all North American concerts can be picked up as soon as today.

Although inventory isn’t available on Ticketmaster until Friday, April 12, fans who want to ensure they have tickets ahead of time can purchase on sites like Vivid Seats before tickets are officially on sale.

Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.

A complete calendar including all North American tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.

The band closed the North American leg of their 2023 tour in Orlando on Feb. 21.

According to Set List FM , here’s what Deep Purple performed — including guitar, keyboard and bass solos — that evening:

01.) “Highway Star”

02.) “Pictures of Home”

03.) “No Need to Shout”

04.) “Nothing at All”

05.) “Guitar Solo”

06.) “Uncommon Man”

07.) “Lazy”

08.) “When a Blind Man Cries”

09.) “Anya”

10.) “Keyboard Solo”

11.) “Perfect Strangers”

12.) “Space Truckin'”

13.) “Smoke on the Water”

14.) “Hush” (Joe South cover)

15.) “Bass Solo”

16.) “Black Night”

Being together for 56 years doesn’t mean Deep Purple doesn’t have more to give to the world.

In 2022, the band reached deep into their archives and dug out “ Extras: The Infinite B Sides and Bonus Songs”  which is a must for any Purple superfan.

However, what we found most interesting was the band’s latest record of original music, 2021’s bluesy, New Orleans-y  “Turning To Crime.”

Featuring epic rock (“7 and 7 Is”) as well as lively party startin’ tunes (“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”) and covers from B.B. King (“Let the Good Times Roll”) and Cream (“White Room”), the album is certainly a departure from the hard rockers’ heavy fare they’re famous for.

Still, for our money, the best track on the record is the Southern-fried rock and roll number “Oh Well.”

We’ve been listening to it on repeat all day.

You can hear the jubilant  “Turning To Crime” album in its entirety here .

After over 50 years together — they formed in 1968 — the core of Deep Purple remains the same.

Should you attend a show, here’s who you’ll likely see take the stage:

Ian Gillan lead vocals, harmonica, percussion (1969–1973, 1984–1989, 1992–present)

Roger Glover bass, keyboards, occasional backing vocals (1969–1973, 1984–present)

Ian Paice drums (1968–1976, 1984–present)

Don Airey keyboards (2002–present)

Simon McBride guitars, backing vocals (2022–present)

This tour is a twofer.

Joining Deep Purple on the road are fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Yes.

The long-running prog band is known for their hits like “Owner of A Lonely Heart,” “Roundabout,” “I’ve Seen All Good People” and many, many more.

If you want to dive into their deep catalog, you can find all of Yes’ music here .

It’s hard to believe the ’60s were over 50 years ago now.

Still, many acts that defined the sound of the groundbreaking musical era are still kicking it and on the road this year.

Here are just five of our favorite acts that have been rocking out since Nixon was in office that you can see live in the next few months.

•  Rolling Stones

•  Robert Plant with Allison Krauss

•  Bob Dylan with Willie Nelson

•  Ringo Starr

•  Graham Nash

Need even more classic rock in your life? We’ve got you covered. Check out our list of the  52 biggest classic rockers on tour in 2024 here to find out.

Vivid Seats is the New York Post's official ticketing partner. We may receive revenue from this partnership for sharing this content and/or when you make a purchase.

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How to get tickets to see the Rolling Stones show on U.S. tour

• Updated: Apr. 02, 2024, 4:02 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 02, 2024, 4:00 p.m.

Rolling Stones 2024 Hackney Diamonds Tour Vivid Seats

• Anneice Coady | [email protected]

The Rolling Stones will kick off their U.S. tour in Houston this month with the band’s first North American tour in more than 10 years.

The band won’t hit Detroit on this leg but has two dates in Chicago and fans can get tickets at Stubhub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and Ticketmaster.

The Stones were originally slated for just one show June 27 in Chicago but added a June 30 date in Chicago due to overwhelming demand. The band will also play Cleveland.

The rock legends are hitting the States in 2024 to tour behind their new album, “Hackney Diamonds.”

Stubhub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and Ticketmaster have tickets for all 16 tour stops in U.S. and Canada.

Tickets start at $127 but prices will fluctuate.

Find tickets for every tour stop:

Houston -- Sunday, April 28, 2024, 7:30pm, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX

Vivid Seats

Ticketmaster

New Orleans -- Thursday, May 2, 2024, 11:59am, New Orleans Jazz Fest - Weekend 2 - 4 Day Pass (5/2 - 5/5), New Orleans Fairgrounds, New Orleans, LA

New Orleans -- Thu May 2, 2024, Time: TBD, New Orleans Jazz Fest Weekend 2 - Thursday (Rolling Stones), New Orleans Fairgrounds, New Orleans, LA

Glendale -- Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 6:00pm, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ

Las Vegas -- Saturday, May 11, 2024, 8:00pm, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

Seattle -- Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 7:30pm, Lumen Field, Seattle, WA

East Rutherford -- Thursday, May 23, 2024, 7:30pm, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

East Rutherford -- Sunday May 26, 8:00pm MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

Foxborough -- Thursday, May 30, 2024, 7:30pm, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

Orlando -- Monday, June 3, 2024, 7:30pm, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Atlanta -- Friday, June 7, 2024, 7:30pm, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Philadelphia -- Tuesday, June 11, 2024, 7:30pm, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

Cleveland -- Saturday, June 15, 2024, 7:30pm, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH

Denver -- Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7:30pm, Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO

Chicago -- Thursday, June 27, 2024, 7:30pm, Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

Chicago -- Monday, June 30, 2024, 7:30pm, Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

Vancouver -- Friday July 5, 2024, 8:00pm, BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, CA

Inglewood -- Wednesday, July 10, 2024, 7:30pm, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA

Inglewood -- Saturday, July 13, 2024, 7:30pm, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA

Santa Clara -- Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 7:30pm, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

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• Latest News

‘Tumbling Dice’: The Story Behind The Rolling Stones Classic

The glorious gospel of peacock records, ‘damn.’: kendrick lamar’s pursuit for higher learning, ‘long distance call’: a personal favorite number for muddy waters, ‘stay with me’: the story behind sam smith’s breakthrough song, soul boys: the influence of soul on 80s chart pop, ‘grease’: how a nostalgic soundtrack became a timeless hit, nduduzo makhathini announces ‘unomkhubulwane,’ shares ‘omnaya’, girls aloud release ‘something kinda ooooh’ digital ep, elyanna releases debut album ‘woledto,’ video for ‘ganeni’, maggie rogers announces first ever arena tour, celebrates ‘don’t forget me’ release, u2’s ben affleck and matt damon-produced ‘kiss the future’ coming to paramount+, poison’s ‘native tongue’ to receive vinyl reissue, jon bon jovi stops by ‘jimmy kimmel’ to chat new documentary, springsteen, and more, the rolling stones share ‘from london to shanghai’ documentary.

The film captures the band’s first performance in mainland China in 2006.

Published on

The Rolling Stones have shared a new documentary entitled From London to Shanghai – The Rolling Stones’ Historic Concert to the Other Side of the World .

Shop the best of The Rolling Stones discography on vinyl and more .

In 2006, the Rolling Stones made their debut performance in mainland China, bringing one of the most renowned Rock and Roll live acts to the other side of the world.

Black Knight: The Enduring Rock Legacy Of Ritchie Blackmore

‘black rose’: thin lizzy’s creativity blooms in paris.

This documentary features interviews with long-time production manager Dale “Opie” Skjerseth and the godfather of Chinese rock Cui Juan.

From London To Shanghai explores behind the scenes of the historic concert, and includes plenty of thrilling concert footage. Check it out below.

This isn’t the first Rolling Stones film to receive a recent release. Back in March, Mercury Studios released from a new film from the band’s archive,  Live At The Wiltern .

The collection was issued in a variety of physical and digital video and audio formats. There are three different versions of the vinyl – a standard black 3LP, Gold Vinyl 3LP and Bronze & Black Swirl. The black 3LP is be on general release, while the color variants are limited releases.

The Rolling Stones embarked on the “Licks World Tour” in 2002 and 2003 to celebrate their 40th anniversary, with the band performing in arenas and stadiums, in addition to the occasional theater show – a daunting 117 dates in total. In November 2002, the Stones arrived in Los Angeles to perform at a packed Wiltern Theatre, treating fans to a set heavy on rarities which feel right at home in such an intimate setting.

While some of the hits were performed, this night at the Wiltern was for the rarely played classics, including “Stray Cat Blues,” “No Expectations,” and a cover of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” featuring a guest spot by the legendary Solomon Burke , who opened the show that night.

Buy or stream Live at the Wiltern .

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• July 14, 1972 Setlist

The Rolling Stones Setlist at Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI, USA

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Tour: American Tour 1972 Tour statistics Add setlist

• Brown Sugar Play Video
• Bitch Play Video
• Rocks Off Play Video
• Gimme Shelter Play Video
• Happy Play Video
• Tumbling Dice Play Video
• Love in Vain Blues ( Robert Johnson  cover) Play Video
• Sweet Virginia Play Video
• You Can't Always Get What You Want Play Video
• All Down the Line Play Video
• Midnight Rambler Play Video
• Bye Bye Johnny ( Chuck Berry  cover) Play Video
• Rip This Joint Play Video
• Jumpin' Jack Flash Play Video
• Street Fighting Man Play Video
• Uptight (Everything's Alright) ( Stevie Wonder  cover) (with Stevie Wonder ) Play Video
• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (with Stevie Wonder ) Play Video

Edits and Comments

12 activities (last edit by GorgeMutonChop , 27 Jul 2023, 23:30 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• All Down the Line
• Rip This Joint
• Sweet Virginia
• Tumbling Dice
• Gimme Shelter
• Midnight Rambler
• You Can't Always Get What You Want
• Bye Bye Johnny by Chuck Berry
• Love in Vain Blues by Robert Johnson
• Uptight (Everything's Alright) by Stevie Wonder
• Brown Sugar
• Street Fighting Man
• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
• Jumpin' Jack Flash

Complete Album stats

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• Artist Statistics
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• The Rolling Stones This Setlist Add time Add time
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The Rolling Stones Gig Timeline

• Jul 12 1972 Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, IN, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 13 1972 Cobo Arena Detroit, MI, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 14 1972 Cobo Arena This Setlist Detroit, MI, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 15 1972 Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto, ON, Canada Add time Add time

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