Stones 50th Anniversary Plans Brewing? Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman Involved?

The Stones will celebrate 50 years in the biz next year and the rumor mill is churning with tidbits - will the band do a massive tour? Will they record?

Keith Richards has been the most vocal about it, from Rolling Stone Magazine: Keith Richards will meet fellow Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts in a London studio. "We're just going to play a little together, because we haven't played for three or four years," Richards says. "You don't necessarily want to rehearse or write anything – you just want to touch bases. That's a good start: me, Charlie and Ronnie. Mick's welcome, and I'm sure he'll turn up, but right now we just want to get our chops down."

OK, cool. But another string floating around is cooler - Richards has also invited Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman to consider getting ready for something.

He told Spinner in an interview: And of course everyone else is welcome. Mick Taylor's welcome. I don't see why everybody who was a Stone shouldn't be involved. I read somewhere else that Bill Wyman is at the ready for whatever transpires (can't find where I read it though!) Interesting since he gave up the band due to a loathing of touring.

Meanwhile, the Stones just re-issued Some Girls with 13 bonus/cleaned up tracks from the 1978 sessions, a-la the Exile on Main Street reissue. The band also put out a live concert film from the 1978 tour, called Live in Texas. I have the CD, and the concert DVD is in the mail - watch reviews soon. And while I think the Stones jumped the shark long ago, I'd be up for a concert with Mick Taylor, just to see him work with these guys again.

Former and Current Stones Jam at Ian Stewart Tribute

I heard on the radio today that former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor announced intent to write a memoir book a la Keith Richards' book Life.

Taylor told BANG Showbiz,"I kind of loved it. I loved it and I hated it. The more successful the Stones became the more seriously they took themselves. I jot down my memories all the time and have done for years in case I ever lose my mind. I don't want to write the kind of book that will shock people, about the scandals, sex, drugs and rock and roll because Keith's done that with his book."

I would love a book by Taylor on his years in the band - their most prolific period by far. But then he said, "It's a hard book to write. My time will come but it's not yet."

So is he writing it or not? I dunno. So I dug around some more and found this far more interesting gem:

Examiner.com reports that Taylor joined Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood onstage at a tribute to the Stones' late pianist and co-founder Ian Stewart. The story goes:

What may be the closest thing to a Rolling Stones concert in 2011 happened on March 9 at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. As previously reported in this column, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman were rumored to perform at a tribute concert in honor the late Ian Stewart, who was an original member of the Rolling Stones. That rumor turned out to be true, and former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor was also part of the all-star event (consisting of two separate concerts in the same evening), which was billed as a Ben Waters show "with special guests.

What? Holy shit. And YouTube, being the second most popular search engine on the planet, of course has front row video for your edification:



Footnote - the author of the article, Carla Hay, who has interviewed all past and current Stones? I knew her in high school. Oh Carla, I knew you way back when! You've come a long way, baby! Ha ha ha.