The Rolling Stones American Tour 1969
Tour by the Rolling Stones | |
Start date | 7 November 1969 |
---|---|
End date | 6 December 1969 |
No. of shows | 24 |
the Rolling Stones concert chronology |
History
This was the Rolling Stones' first US tour since July 1966, with the absence partly due to drug charges and subsequent complications.[2] Instead of performing in small- and medium-size venues to audiences of screaming girls, the band was playing to sold-out arenas with more mature crowds that were ready to listen to the music.[5] They used a more sophisticated amplification system, and lighting was overseen by Chip Monck. It was Mick Taylor's first tour with the band; he had replaced Brian Jones that June, shortly before Jones's death, and had only performed one gig (the free concert in Hyde Park) with them before the tour.[5]
Some rehearsals for this tour occurred in the basement of Stephen Stills' Laurel Canyon home.[6]
The tour began on 7 November with a warm-up show at
On 23 November, the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. "Gimme Shelter" opened the show. The show closed with "Love in Vain" and "Honky Tonk Women." The band mimed to prerecorded tracks and Jagger sang live. The performance was recorded at the CBS studios in Los Angeles and edited into the show to appear like they were in New York.
In his review of the shows on 27 and 28 November at New York City's
Another well-known show from the tour was the second concert in Oakland, California on 9 November, which was captured on Live'r Than You'll Ever Be, one of the first-ever live bootleg recordings.
The final show of the tour as initially planned was on 28 November in New York City, but 30 November in West Palm Beach, Florida was added as a gesture to the organiser. The band also organised and headlined the free concert at Altamont on 6 December, which was tacked on at the end of the tour as a response to the high ticket prices of the tour itself.[9]
Tour manager
The US was in political turmoil at the time, and some militant groups tried to portray the tour as a call for radical political action, especially in light of the Rolling Stones' 1968 track "
The tour sold over $1 million worth of tickets,[8] with ticket prices ranging from $3.00 to $8.00.[7][8] This tour represented a new financial model for rock acts pioneered by Ronnie Schneider, the sole producer and financial manager of the tour. Schneider was the nephew of Allen Klein, who had been recently fired by Keith Richards and Sam Cutler.[13]
Neither Schneider nor the Stones had any money at the time to fund this endeavor so Schneider had to come up with a new business model and that meant the band getting a piece of the gross box office and demanding a 50% advance, which funded the shows.[citation needed]
Schneider's role involved securing box office receipts on behalf of the band. In this way, the band itself (and Schneider, whose interests were aligned with those of the band) was in control of all the money related to a tour. On behalf of the Rolling Stones, Schneider centralized the control, ownership and management of ancillary rights, licensing and the marketing of posters,
The 1970 concert album
Personnel
The Rolling Stones
- lead vocals, harmonica
- backing vocals
- Mick Taylor – guitar
- Bill Wyman – bass
- Charlie Watts – drums
Additional musicians
Ike & Tina Turner Revue
Set list
A typical set list for the tour included the following, although there were substitutions (note the presence of "
All songs by
- "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
- "Carol" (Chuck Berry)
- "Sympathy for the Devil"
- "Stray Cat Blues"
- "Robert Johnson)
- "Prodigal Son" (Robert Wilkins)
- "Rev. Gary Davis)
- "Under My Thumb"
- "I'm Free"
- "Midnight Rambler"
- "Live with Me"
- "Little Queenie" (Berry)
- "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
- "Honky Tonk Women"
- "Street Fighting Man"
Tour dates
Note: The final scheduled date of the tour was Boston, 29 November 1969. The West Palm Beach International Music and Arts Festival on 30 November and the Altamont Free Concert on 6 December were planned as separate events and added while the tour was in progress. A further four dates were completed in London, United Kingdom during December 1969; these were also separate events to the main tour.
Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening act(s) / event |
---|---|---|---|---|
North America[14] | ||||
7 November 1969 | Fort Collins | United States | Moby Gymnasium | B.B. King
Terry Reid |
8 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Inglewood | The Forum
|
Ike & Tina Turner B.B. King Terry Reid | |
9 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Oakland | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | ||
10 November 1969 | San Diego | San Diego International Sports Center | ||
11 November 1969 | Phoenix | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
13 November 1969 | University Park | Moody Coliseum | Chuck Berry Terry Reid | |
14 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Auburn | Memorial Coliseum | ||
15 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Champaign | Assembly Hall | ||
16 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Chicago | International Amphitheatre | ||
23 November 1969 | New York City | Ed Sullivan Theater | The Ed Sullivan Show | |
24 November 1969 | Detroit | Detroit Olympia | B.B. King Terry Reid | |
25 November 1969 | Philadelphia | Spectrum | B.B. King Terry Reid | |
26 November 1969 | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center
|
B.B. King[15] Terry Reid[15] | |
27 November 1969 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | Ike & Tina Turner B.B. King Terry Reid | |
28 November 1969 (2 shows) | ||||
29 November 1969 (2 shows) |
Boston | Boston Garden | B.B. King Terry Reid | |
US Festivals | ||||
30 November 1969 | Jupiter | United States | Palm Beach International Raceway | West Palm Beach International Music and Arts Festival |
6 December 1969 | Tracy | Altamont Speedway | Altamont Speedway Free Festival | |
Europe | ||||
14 December 1969 (2 shows) |
London | England | Saville Theatre | — |
21 December 1969 (2 shows) |
Lyceum Ballroom | Procol Harum |
References
- ISBN 0-517-52641-7
- ^ a b "The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina, B.B. King, Terry Reid" (PDF). Cash Box: 44. 6 December 1969.
- ^ a b Robert Christgau, "The Rolling Stones", entry in The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, Random House, 1980. pp. 198–199.
- ISBN 0-394-54668-7. p. 15.
- ^ "The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years". Rolling Stone. 12 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d Mike Jahn (28 November 1969). "The Rolling Stones Are Still Exciting". The New York Times.
- ^ "Stones rehearse in the basement of Stephen Stills' Lurel Canyon home | Musicians in 2019 | Rolling stones, Like a rolling stone, Rock, roll". Pinterest. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Rolling Stones Open Tour With West Coast Concert". Associated Press for The New York Times. 10 November 1969.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Francis X. Clines (28 November 1969). "16,000 at Madison Square Garden Shout With Joy in Reaction to Sounds of Rolling Stones". The New York Times.
- ISBN 0-7679-0313-7, p. 307.
- ^ The Rolling Stones (1969). The Stones in the Park (DVD released 2006). Network Studios.
- Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (LP). Decca Records. 1970.
- ^ ISBN 0-306-80502-2. pp. 160–161.
- ISBN 9781741666090
- ISBN 978-1-4766-3443-2.
- ^ a b Sessa, Sam (27 November 2009). "Rolling Stones in Baltimore -- 40 years later". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 26 February 2021.