Today, July 12, marks the 60th anniversary of the first show that The Rolling Stones played under their famous moniker.
As explained in an article posted on BMG.com, the performance took place at London’s famous Marquee Club on Oxford Street. The show came about when British blues outfit Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, which had a residency lined up at the club, was offered the chance to play a live BBC broadcast that evening and accepted, leaving an opening at the venue.
Singer Mick Jagger, who occasionally performed with Korner’s group, was given the chance to fill in that night with the new band he’d been working with, although they didn’t have a name at the time and needed to choose one for the gig. Guitarist Brian Jones came up with The Rolling Stones, taken from a Muddy Waters song.
The band’s lineup for the show featured Jones — who was using the stage name Elmore Lewis at the time, Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, piano player Ian Stewart and bassist Dick Taylor. There remains some disagreement about who, if anyone, played drums with the group that night.
The Rolling Stones played a 16-song set at the show that featured a mix of blues and early rock ‘n’ roll tunes. Here’s the full set list:
“Kansas City” – Wilbert Harrison
“Honey What’s Wrong” — Billy Fury
“Confessin’ the Blues” — Chuck Berry
“Bright Lights, Big City” — Jimmy Reed
“Dust My Blues” — Elmore James
“Down the Road Apiece” — Chuck Berry
“I Want to Love You” — Charles Smith
“I’m a Hoochie Coochie Man” — Muddy Waters
“Ride ‘Em On Down” — Robert Johnson
“Back in the USA” — Chuck Berry
“I Feel a Kind of Lonesome” — Jimmy Reed
“Blues Before Sunrise” — Elmore James
“Big Boss Man” — Jimmy Reed
“Don’t Stay Out All Night” — Billy Boy Arnold
“Tell Me That You Love Me” — Fats Domino
“Happy Home” — Elmore James
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