You’d think the only thing the Stones would want to drop this week was an absolutely awesome reissue of their classic 1972 opus, Exile On Main Street. But no! They have also seemingly dropped one of their guitarists, the legendary Ronnie Wood.
The writing on Ronnie’s tenure with the band seems to be all over the wall at the Rolling Stones’ official website, where just yesterday Ronnie was listed as a “present” member in the Rolling Stones membership along with Mick, Charlie and Keef. But fans of the twin guitar attack that has been a defining attribute of the post-Mick Taylor Stones sound must be distressed upon hearing that, as of today, Ronnie is no longer listed as “present” at the site, but his contribution is most rudely capped off with the year 2010.
RollingStones.com now lists Ronnie Wood as a member from 1976-2010
No official announcement has been made, but this starkly rendered piece of information straight from the Stones’ official website could be the most passive-aggressively rendered band announcement in memory.
Why would Ronnie be given his walking (or rather, rolling) papers? Could it be a further descent into the kind of addiction-induced hi-jinks that have embarrassed the Stones organization of late? Getting busted with drugs and a 19-year old girl may have been good for business in their late ’60s-early ’70s heyday, but for 62-year old Ronnie, perhaps it’s one coke binge and teenage babe too many. Throw in alleged adultery against longtime wife Joann and a caution given by British police after an assault in the streets of Esher, UK, and it would seem obvious the Stones would have to officially do something to keep rolling with their second guitarist at risk of lockup (…or worse).
After all, with their 50th anniversary as a band nigh, hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on another Stones tour. It has to be difficult enough to get a bunch of rock gods like the Stones together and on the same page, especially when they’re busy siring children out-of-wedlock with Brazilian supermodels or falling out of coconut trees or receiving treatment for cancer. If Ronnie can’t keep himself straight, the Stones are obviously going to try and find someone who can.
If he’s been given his walking papers, one has to wonder if ol’ Ronnie can save face by going back to his old Faces mates? Who thinks Rod Stewart would like to put the old band back together, if only to give old pal Ronnie something constructive to work on other than digging himself a deeper hole?
Seriously, though, addiction isn’t all that funny, and it’s a shame to see someone of Ronnie’s talents and legacy get booted from a band he obviously loved, and whose many fans obviously loved him. Here’s a video clip of the Stones 1986 hit, “One Hit to the Body”, a song Ronnie co-wrote with Mick, and a criminally underrated piece of their recorded legacy:
And did you know Ronnie also played bass in the studio and (sometimes) live for the Stones? Here’s the all-time classic baseline from “Emotional Rescue”, a roller-rink hit from 1980 and a baseline that will not leave your consciousness anytime soon…and that’s Ronnie Wood playing on the recording, not Bill Wyman (despite what MTV would have you believe)!
Get well soon, Ronnie, and we hope this bit of website information is just a glitch and that you’ll be rocking’ it on stage with the rest of the Stones very soon!
Grab your copy of the Exile On Main Street reissue in any of these variants:
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