The Rolling Stones' First US Tour: Chaos, Cash, and a Backstage Brawl at the TAMI Show

Their first American tour in June 1964 was a whirlwind of 13 dates in 20 days, booked after “Not Fade Away” scraped the US charts. The Stones were still a raw, scruffy novelty to American audiences — not yet the band that would rival the Beatles. They were paid crap, slept on floors, and got roughed up by cops in San Antonio.

The TAMI Show on October 28–29 (filmed in Santa Monica) was the climax, a giant TV concert also starring James Brown, Chuck Berry, and Marvin Gaye. The Stones were put on right after Brown’s legendary set — a suicide slot. Backstage, Keith Richards and Brian Jones were caught using the phone without permission, leading to a legendary fight with James Brown’s manager. Brown’s people started swinging. The Stones hid in a dressing room, with Bill Wyman wedging a chair under the door handle. They went on anyway, terrified and angry, and played like their lives depended on it.