How the Rolling Stones Formed in 1962: The Five Founding Members

The Rolling Stones came together in London in 1962 when guitarist Brian Jones placed a classified ad in Jazz News looking for musicians to form a rhythm and blues band. The first stable lineup included Jones on guitar and harmonica, Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards on guitar, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts — but that classic five didn’t click into place all at once.

Before Wyman and Watts joined, the early rehearsals featured Ian “Stu” Stewart on piano (often called the sixth Stone) and a revolving door of drummers like Tony Chapman and Carlo Little. Wyman replaced original bassist Dick Taylor in December 1962, and Watts was convinced to leave his blues combo and join in January 1963 after Jagger and Richards wore him down. So while Jones, Jagger, Richards, Wyman, and Watts are canonically the five founding members, Stewart was there in spirit — and