Personalities | The Rolling Stones (1976) | Key Events

April

‘Fool To Cry’

Another Jagger ballad as an album’s first single, ‘Fool To Cry’ was Mick’s lamenting for a woman he loved, from an impoverished part of the city he lived, but was convincing enough for it to go Top 10 worldwide and introduce the simultaneously released Black And Blue album.

Black And Blue

By now having to compete with the rock juggernaut of Led Zeppelin and their hard-rock offspring, Black And Blue was a funk and reggae-influenced album, showcasing Mick’s interest in both the former and the popular disco market, and Keith’s immersion in the latter. Largely a collection of jam-based songs, legendary rock critic Lester Bangs would damn it as being the ‘first meaningless Stones album’, writing, ‘they are perfectly in tune with the times … the heat’s off … they really don’t matter anymore’.

Start Of European Tour

An eight-week European tour saw the Stones’ crew multiply to 100 (most of whom were also on heroin throughout), with Keith strung out and frequently awake for days on end – even falling asleep during some shows. No one can be said to have played much great music, as the group were at one of their most decadent points, mostly going through the motions of touring. Devastatingly, however, at their final Paris show in June, Keith was informed that his son Tara, then just 11 weeks old, had suffocated in his sleep, which prompted one of his best performances of the tour.

Personalities | Introducing The Rolling Stones
Personalities | The Rolling Stones (1977) | Key Events

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