Chapter 19: The British Invasion
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) marked the Rolling Stones’ bold foray into psychedelic music, featuring experimental sounds, surreal lyrics, and innovative studio techniques. Widely regarded as the Stones’ response to The Beatles’ groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band the band rushed into the studio eager to craft their own psychedelic statement. However, the sessions were fraught with difficulties. Brian Jones frequently slept through recording sessions, and when he did play, his performance was often so poor that the other members quietly disconnected his guitar from the amplifier.
One standout track, “She’s a Rainbow,” opens with a distinctive ascending piano run followed by a turnaround—a motif that recurs throughout the song. This melodic figure is further enriched by mellotron as well as string arrangements during the middle eight, adding a whimsical and lush texture. Playful and ambiguous musical elements enliven the piece, such as the strings deliberately slipping out of tune and key near the song’s conclusion, and the band’s members joining in with childlike “La La” vocalizations.
The album’s original cover concept was provocative and controversial. One proposed image depicted Mick Jagger naked on a cross but was rejected by the record company as being “in bad taste.” Instead, the initial LP featured a distinctive three-dimensional lenticular cover designed by photographer Michael Cooper. When viewed at a certain angle this image showed the band members’ faces turning toward one another, except for Jagger, whose hands were crossed in front of him. A closer look reveals a subtle, cheeky detail: the faces of the four Beatles are embedded within the design, reportedly as a playful response to the Beatles’ inclusion of a Shirley Temple doll wearing a “Welcome the Rolling Stones” sweater on their Sgt. Pepper’s cover.
Earlier that year, the Stones had released “We Love You,” an attempted answer to the Beatles’ anthem “All You Need Is Love.” Accompanied by a promotional film echoing the Beatles’ pioneering work, the single reflected the ongoing friendly rivalry between the two bands. However, ipon its release in December 1967, Their Satanic Majesties Request met with commercial and critical disappointment. Even the Stones acknowledged they had failed to “out-Beatle” the Beatles.
Learning from their misstep, the Stones returned to their roots with the 1968 single “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” The track was a straightforward, R&B-influenced rock and roll song that removed the psychedelic experimentation of their previous album. This was soon followed by the more lyrically complex “Sympathy for the Devil,” inspired by Marianne Faithfull’s recommendation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, which tells the story of a suave Satan visiting Soviet Russia to observe the revolution’s aftermath. The song appeared on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet, which also featured “Street Fighting Man,” a politically charged track that was banned in the U.S. due to its release coinciding with a period of intense civil unrest, including race riots and protests at the Democratic National Convention.
Meanwhile, Brian Jones’s personal and legal troubles worsened. Arrested again on drug charges, he faced mounting difficulties securing a U.S. work permit ahead of the band’s upcoming American tour. His deteriorating mental and physical health rendered him more of a liability than an asset. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts made the difficult decision to part ways with Jones, presenting the split as temporary. Jones, meanwhile, feigned optimism about pursuing solo projects or collaborating with other British groups.
The Stones brought in Mick Taylor, a guitarist from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, to fill the vacancy left by Brian Jones. Taylor’s public debut was set for a free concert at Hyde Park, London, on July 5, 1969. Tragically, just days before the show, on July 2, Brian Jones was found dead in his swimming pool, with the official cause ruled as “death by misadventure.” Despite the shock, the Hyde Park concert went ahead as planned, drawing an estimated 250,000 fans. Footage from the event reveals a band struggling on stage—likely weighed down by Jones’s recent passing, their limited live experience, and the challenge of integrating a new guitarist.
Since their formation in 1962, the Rolling Stones have maintained a remarkably consistent presence in the music world, building a legacy as one of rock’s most enduring and influential bands. However, their reputation took a significant hit later in 1969 following the notorious Altamont Free Concert—an event marked by violence and tragedy that severely impacted the band’s public image. This episode is covered in greater detail in a later chapter.
After Brian Jones’s death, Mick Taylor’s addition proved crucial, as he contributed substantially to the band’s sound through the early 1970s. Taylor was eventually replaced on guitar by Ronnie Wood in 1975, who has with the band ever since. Today, the Stones still feature two of the original five members—Mick Jagger and Keith Richards—who continue to lead the band creatively and perform live. The group also faced the loss of longtime drummer Charlie Watts, who passed away in 2021 after nearly six decades with the band. Despite these changes and challenges, the Rolling Stones continue to write new music, release albums, and tour globally over a half century since the band began.