The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland pay tribute this week to the 50-year career of the Rolling Stones. David C. Barnett of member station WCPN in Cleveland reports.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were 22 years old when they wrote a song about an aging mother trying to handle a stress-filled life
MUSIC: “What a drag it is getting old...” UP & UNDER
The opening line from the Rolling Stones’ 1966 hit “Mother’s Little Helper” is also the title of a lecture that music journalist Alan Light will give, this Thursday, examining the triumphs and the challenges of the band’s longevity.
ALAN LIGHT: Somewhere in the ‘80s it became clear that the Stones were doing something that there was no blueprint for --- nobody had kept a band on-going as an active working machine for 20 years, 30 years, and now we’re at 50 years.
That half-century of the Rolling Stones will be explored this week through lectures, films and an all-star performance featuring musicians who have played with the Stones over the years --- everyone from saxophonist Bobby Keys to singer Merry Clayton, whose signature voice haunts the classic “Gimme Shelter”.
MUSIC: Gimme Shelter UP & UNDER
Writer Alan Light argues that, while the band’s more recent music may be marginal, the enduring quality of their early output sets a bar that few others have ever reached.
ALAN LIGHT: There still is a vitality and excitement around it, and all you can say is that it’s testament to just how damned good those records are.