Stones aide dies

Guitar technician collapses during band's North York rehearsal

SMALL NEWS AND BIGGER NEWS

SOLOMON BURKE will open the LA shows in November. His famous song "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" was covered by the Stones. He also wrote songs like "Cry To Me" and the lovely track "If You Need Me".

LONDON, AUGUST 12 2002 from Rolling Stones website: The first ever comprehensive retrospective album covering The Rolling Stones' greatest hits dating back to the very start of the band's recording career up to the present day will be released worldwide by EMI Recorded Music's Virgin Records label on October 1, 2002 in North America (September 30 outside North America and September 23 in Japan).

Entitled Forty Licks, the package consists of two 20-track CDs (CD1 on the ABKCO label and CD2 on the Virgin label) that represent an unprecedented joint cooperative venture between The Rolling Stones, ABKCO Records and EMI's Virgin Records in North America, and between The Rolling Stones, ABKCO, Universal Music International and EMI in the rest of the world.

Destined to confirm to both long time and new fans why the Rolling Stones have been acknowledged as 'The World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band,' the collection features digitally remastered classic Rolling Stones hits including (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Ruby Tuesday, Brown Sugar, Miss You and Start Me Up.

In addition to these historic tracks that reflect the Stones legacy, four new songs especially recorded by the band for this collection with producer Don Was are included in the set.

The Rolling Stones will kick off their Rolling Stones World Tour 2002/2003 in Boston on September 3rd. After over 40 dates in North America the band will head off to Europe, Australia and Asia where, in 2003, they hope to play their first ever concerts in China. Artists that will share the stage with The Rolling Stones as opening acts on the tour include No Doubt, the Pretenders, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang. The Rolling Stones hold the all-time records for the three best attended tours of all time - 'Steel Wheels', 'Voodoo Lounge' and 'Bridges to Babylon'

NEWS FOR THE NEXT DAYS - Blue Lena will send all news to the board for the next days, as Charlotte is on vacation and joining the STONES GATHERING PARTY on the roof of the Alps. Report will come in STONES PLANET NO. 10.

Pop Memorabilia sale - 3 October, Christie's London at 10.30AM
Contact: Helen Bailey 0207 321 3280 hbailey@christies.com

Lot 53 A rare early concert flyer All Nite Rave, Midnight to 6a.m....Sat., December 21st, DUSTY SPRINGFIELD & THE ECHOES, Sat., December 28th, THE ROLLING STONES... and others, Club Noreik, Tottenham, London, 1963 £400-600 click for enlargement of photo

Lot 52 A rare early publishing contract for the song Stoned, October 11th, 1963, the printed contract completed with carbon typescript details between Southern Music Publishing Company Ltd and Michael Jagger with Brian Jones, Charles Watts, William Perks, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart... giving their joint pseudonym - "Nanker Phelge", the composer section of the contract signed in blue ballpoint pen Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Ian Stewart, W.Perks [Bill Wyman], Ian Stewart and Charlie Watts £7,000-8,000 click for enlargement of photo.

The Rolling Stones have agreed to give their first live concert for an American television network, a show that will air on HBO in January. The pay cable network will present the Stones at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 18, 2003, one of the last stops on their ``Licks'' tour.

FORTUNE Exclusive: 

Inside the Business of the Rolling Stones
Story Reveals Why Stones Keep Touring--and How They Make More Money Than Any Other Band
Tuesday September 17, 11:05 am ET

"Spend time with the band's senior entourage and you quickly realize how the Stones got so market-wise," says Serwer. Though Mick Jagger attended the London School of Economics, "his greatest talent, besides strutting and singing, is his ability to surround himself and the band with a group of very able executives."

The Rolling Stones, reports Serwer, are a private and secretive organization, and many of their executives, such as chief financial officer Joe Rascoff, tour manager Michael Cohl, and Prince Rupert Lowenstein, a London-based banker who has been the band's business advisor for over 30 years, stay out of the public eye. But they are crucial when it comes to "interlocking" the various businesses linked to the band: touring, merchandising, publishing rights, etc. They oversee a group of four companies--based in the Netherlands, which has a more favorable tax code than the U.K.--each dedicated to a particular side of the business.

Touring, which today is totally professionalized, complete with immigration lawyers, a staff of travelling accountants, and real-time budgets, is the biggest money-making part of the Stones' operation. Since the 1989 Steel Wheels tour--when Cohl took over managing the band's shows--the Stones have grossed over $750 million on the road. Though exact profit margins are hard to come by, it's safe to say that tens of millions of that total flowed directly to the band members, according to Serwer.

When Cohl took over, new streams of revenue were created by selling skyboxes, bus tours, and TV deals, as well as through innovative merchandising. Cohl also brought in corporate sponsors like Volkswagen and Sprint. Most importantly, he stitched these operations together, through cross-promotion and the like, to maximize their earnings power. The Steel Wheels tour itself made over $198 million, a record for a rock tour.

On the new Licks tour, which kicked off in Boston last week, the band will play three types of venues: stadiums, arenas and small clubs, each with a unique set of songs (they've rehearsed over 130 for this tour), staging and lights. Revenues from Licks won't approach the monster Voodoo Lounge tour in 1994/1995, which brought in close to $370 million, nor the 1997/1998/1999 Bridges to Babylon tour, which did over $390 million. But merchandising will be more sophisticated than ever, with about 50 items available.

But with tours only happening every few years, the steady profits--"the Microsoft part of the Stones business empire," according to Serwer--come from performing rights. The Stones have dozens of songs that are played on FM radio, still a vibrant medium. And anytime a song is played--at a skating rink, on a jukebox, at a club--the Jagger/Richards cash register goes "ca-ching," says Serwer. All this--the tours, the records, the rights--have made the Stones the wealthiest rock band on the planet. Jagger alone is said to have a fortune of some $500 million.

"So what keeps the Stones going?," asks Serwer. "Money, yes. But the band could make big bucks simply by licensing commercials instead of touring. Going on the road is about ego gratification." And when the Stones stop touring, concludes Serwer, "it will mean not only the end of the world's greatest rock band, but also a winding down of the most successful enterprise this crazy business has ever known."

Complete interviews with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards will be available at www.fortune.com , along with related features not found in the magazine.

Auction Sept. 24

66
Promotional poster for the Rolling Stones' film 'Gimme Shelter'
omotional poster for the Rolling Stones' film 'Gimme Shelter'
An original Swedish promotional black and white poster for the Rolling
Stones GIMME SHELTER 20th Century Fox film, a documentary of the Stones'
1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic free concert at Altamont
Speedway, east of Oakland in Northern California.
Measures approx. 12 x 27.5 inch (30 x 70 cm.)
£100-150

67

A guitar signed by the Rolling Stones
A black E-ROS 12 string acoustic guitar signed in silver marker pen Mick
Jagger, Charlie Boy, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and on the scratchplate in
gold marker pen Mick Taylor.
£600-800

68
Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus' poster
A large poster, produced by ABKO, to promote the 1996 release of Rolling
Stones Rock And Roll Circus December 11 1968 on CD and Video, mounted,
framed and glazed.
Overall measurement approx. 37 x 25 inch (94 x 65 cm)
£200-300
69
Autograph album, with various signatures including The Rolling Stones and Brian Epstein
A pink autograph album, signed throughout by many British sixties stars, to include; Billy J Kramer, Brian Epstein (The Beatles Manager), PJ Proby, Gene Vincent, Davy Jones, and others. Together with loose, folded page signed and
annotated Love to Lee Bill Wyman, Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Charlie Boy (Watts), all in different colour pens, dated Bournmouth 1964
in a different hand.
£600-800

70
Four Rolling Stones items
A copy of The Rolling Stones debut album Decca Mono LK 4605, (second
pressing sleeve lists Mona not I Need You Baby), together with a 1990 London
Records promotional Radio Sampler CD with 6 songs and two London Records
sales marketing sheets titled August 1988 is Rolling Stones Month with illustrations of seventeen Rolling Stones album covers. (4)
Various sizes

71
Ronnie Woods signed items
Two pages, each featuring a black and white image of Ronnie, signed each in
gold pen with a doodle Ronnie Wood together with two flyers for a Japanese
exhibition of Wood's paintings. (4)
£60-80

89
The Beatles and Rolling Stones 'The Great Pop Prom' concert
programme, 1963
A rare programme for a concert held at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 15
September 1963, organised by teen magazine Valentine in aid of the Printers
Pension Corporation. The Stones opened the show and the Beatles closed it.
This was the first time both bands performed together.
Condition: Near mint.
£1,500-2,000

You're trying to pay attention to Mick Jagger singing about the gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis and the divorcee in New York City. You really are.

But it's hard, because your eye keeps wandering up to the cartoon image of the woman flickering on the screen over his head in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.

Maybe it's because she's 20 feet tall. Maybe it's because she's sultry. Maybe it's because she's wearing only high heels and a black brief as she rides up and down on a long tongue that has snaked out from between two incandescent red lips.

Ah, yes, the lips. If the lips are back, the Rolling Stones can't be far behind, and even though a pair of seats will set you back a week's wages, they're the town's hot ticket tomorrow at the Garden, Saturday at Giants Stadium and, best of all, Monday at the intimate Roseland.

The way it works at Roseland is that, if you have extra tickets, someone will hand you a blank check. The going rate yesterday was $3,000-$4,000 a seat.

This isn't bad for a band that half the world thinks shouldn't be playing at all, that even some fans think hasn't made a great record in three decades and whose best-selling albums have, in 30-plus years, rarely sold more than a couple of million copies. The last Britney Spears CD, that many copies fell off the delivery trucks.

Whether or not you think the Stones are the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band - and in Philadelphia last week, they made their case - there's something more here than marketing and mythology.

Beyond Altamont and the blood-transfusion lore and Keith Richards waking up one morning to pluck the "Satisfaction" riff out of the passing air, the Stones created a deep, wide and granite-solid foundation of music and songs that are unlike anything else in the half-century history of rock.

Now, sure, all that music started somewhere else. It came from Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly and Scotty Moore and a thousand others. It came from bluesman Robert Johnson, who before he died young in 1938 recorded the bleak "Love in Vain."

Last Friday in Philly, the Stones played "Love in Vain," a beautiful, aching rendition with Ron Wood on pedal-steel guitar.

Robert Johnson's songs aren't forgotten. But not many bands beyond the Stones play them today in arenas and stadiums.

Nor do a lot of bands sing, "I'll bet your mama was a tent-show queen/And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen." Or "There will always be a space in my parking lot/When you need a little Coke and sympathy." What a line. Who else, anywhere?

This doesn't mean the Stones have a better repertoire than, say, Bob Dylan. It just means that, for all the bad boys who have strutted across rock stages over the years, none do it better than the Stones.

Posing? Of course. Mick and Keith are grandmasters of posing. In Philly, they were doing a new song, "Don't Stop," on which Mick plays guitar, and during a bridge he walked over to Keith, ready to fall into one of those guitar-buddy moments.

Keith took a figurative step backward and gave Mick a look. "You're not a guitar player," that look said. "I'm a guitar player."

It's theater, it's almost opera, and it works because it's riding such a solid foundation of music - songs that dig out our nastiest, most evil ruminations ("You're obsolete, my baby/My poor old-fashioned baby"), our bleakest fears ("You can't always get what you want") and yet somehow help us through the day instead of darkening it.

Someone who simply saw the set list from Veterans Stadium might shrug it off as just another greatest-hits show, since the most casual fan could sing along with 18 or 19 of the 21 songs.

But this wasn't the Beach Boys, bless their lovely harmonies. This wasn't a freeze-dried moment from 1972. When Jagger and backup vocalist Lisa Fisher exploded out of an ominous swirl of sound to sing "A storm is threatening ... my very life today," it could have been written off the morning papers.

The Stones have been following the raucous barroom workout "Tumblin' Dice" with Richards singing "Slipping Away" so wistfully it's reminiscent of Sinatra's "Angel Eyes." They've been singing Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," not a definitive version, just sly and witty. They do know how it feels to be a Rolling Stone.

"It's a wonderful night," Jagger said as he looked up at the late-summer moon and down at the crowd.

He gets no argument here.

And, oh, by the way, the girl. She rode the tongue for a while, then the lips swallowed her. A couple of beats later, they spit out a high heel.

Change will protect Keith Richards' privacy

The guitarist had complained that the path, popular with weekend walkers, ran within 10 yards of his property in West Wittering, allowing passers-by to see into the grounds.

West Sussex Council said Tuesday it has agreed to have the path moved to the other side of a nearby field.

"Someone well-known is more vulnerable than you or me. We are well aware of what the paparazzi do. We are well aware of what nutters can do," said Bill Acraman, chairman of the council's rights of way committee.

"Whether they be prime minister or pop star, they are more vulnerable than you or I. I strongly feel we should be able to go the extra mile."

Richards, 58, bought the thatched seaside house 75 miles south of London as a country retreat in 1966.

A spokesman for Richards, who is on tour in the United States with the Rolling Stones, said he was not available for comment Tuesday.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LONDON (Reuters) - The first songs penned by Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richard were so sentimental they were ashamed of them, Jagger told BBC Radio in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

"We couldn't write rock songs. We just wrote these crap ballads," he told Britain's Radio Five Live, in extracts of an interview that were released before Sunday's 1130 GMT broadcast.

The band's first five hits were all cover versions of songs written by other stars, though imbued with the Rolling Stones flavor.

But manager Andrew Loog Oldham wanted them to write their own material -- and locked Jagger and Richard in a room until they did.

Jagger said the first song they produced, "As Tears Go By," was far from the heavy-rocker image they were cultivating, so they gave it to pop singer and Jagger girlfriend Marianne Faithfull (news), who had a hit with  it.

"It was pop and we didn't record it because it was crap," he said. "We had a successful crap ballad...I can say now it's a wonderful tune, but we didn't think it was that great at the time."

Jagger said he and Richard "were these two rebellious band members, and we would write nice little tunes, but sentimental stuff."

The dynamic song-writing duo -- whose creative skill and tireless drive has kept the band at the top of the notoriously fickle music business for four decades -- finally hit their stride in 1965 with "The Last Time."

"Eventually we got to grips with writing rock tunes, but it took a little time," Jagger said.

A string of hits followed, such as "Satisfaction," "Paint It Black" and "Get Off Of My Cloud."

The group, which began as a rebellion band but has long since become absorbed into the establishment, Jagger getting a knighthood earlier this year, has just released 40 years of remastered greatest hits.

Richard said the band had no intention of slowing down after a lifetime in the rock 'n' roll fast lane.

"Nobody has been scumbag rockers like us and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn't put it past us to keep on rockin'," he said.

Jagger and Richard, who will both be 60 next year, are currently leading the tireless Stones on another U.S. tour.

Keith on the cover of Rolling Stone

Maybe this cover from Rolling Stone Magazine was a little too much for Rod Stewart. At least he commented it the other day, and said, that Keith is almost 60 years, and should wear some more clothes.

New Rolling Stones Album Could Come Soon, Says Ron Wood

10/18/02, 3 p.m. ET) -- The Rolling Stones went into the studio in Paris, France, earlier this year, ostensibly to record a few new songs for the Forty Licks retrospective. The Stones wound up with more than two dozen new compositions, four of which are included on Forty Licks.

That seems to indicate that a new studio album shouldn't be too far away, and guitarist Ron Wood tells LAUNCH that the goods are there to turn something out relatively quickly. "We went there, in Paris, to do six songs, and we ended up doing 25. Like, we have another new album in the making, if you like, out of the Paris sessions. I would say it wouldn't take more than a few months to do the final vocals and mixing. There's not much needs doing to the basic tracks--you know, maybe an overdub here and there--but if we were forced, we could have it out in a couple of months."

Gary Graff, Detroit

Start Me Up, Danny

By Tony Kornheiser
Saturday, October 12, 2002; Page D01

Some months back I was chatting with Dan Snyder (owner of the Washington Redskins), making small talk about how the Redskins might do under new coach Steve Spurrier. Snyder was very  excited to have Spurrier. 
And then he told me he was very excited about something else: His favorite band, the Rolling Stones, was signed to play a  concert at FedEx Field in October. Snyder was ecstatic. "You like the Rolling Stones?" he asked me.
Do I like them? I named my son after Mick Jagger."
"Well, how'd you like to come to the pre-concert meal with the Stones?
They've got to eat something before they play. We can eat with them."
Ohmigod!
Oh, please this isn't another horribly self-indulgent  Kornheiser column about his life, is it? I hoped we were done with them when  he left Style. Come on, this is Sports!
You want sports? Wilbon will write another Redskins column in 24 hours.
Can you wait until then, or will you dry up and die from lack of in-depth Patrick Ramsey coverage?
So anyway, months went by. I never heard from Snyder.
I figured he'd forgotten about me. Then last week on the morning of  the concert, he called  and said, "Are you ready to meet Mick Jagger?" 
He explained he could bring four people to meet the  Stones before the concert. He had been allotted five minutes with them  hardly a generous gesture considering The Danny owns FedEx Field. 
"What about their pregame meal?" I asked.
"Apparently they don't eat a pregame meal," Snyder said.
"Have you seen them?" I said. "It doesn't look like they've eaten any meals since 1973."
I spent the rest of the day itching like a man on a fuzzy tree, as The King would say. The easy part was writing a check to charity for the tickets. The hard part was thinking what to say to Jagger, whom  I'd revered for 40 years. I wanted desperately to say something smart and witty that would give him a good impression of me. Here's what I
came up with:
"So, Mick, how many women have you slept with so far?"
(The correct answer is: "So far today?")
I actually met Mick once before, at the Meadowlands about 25 years ago.
Well, maybe "met" is a reach. I was covering Pele's  last game with the Cosmos in the old North American Soccer League.
After the game I was in the locker room, trying to get as close to Pele as possible. I was about 10 feet from him, in a crush of reporters, straining to make out what Pele was  saying. From behind, somebody kept pushing and  shoving me, and the      jostling was hampering me from taking notes. So I wheeled, ready to tell this guy if he shoved me again I'd deck him . . . when I realized the guy was Mick Jagger! He was the last person on Earth I expected to  see there. I have no idea why he was there, but I couldn't punch Mick  Jagger. So I babbled  something idiotic about how much I loved his music, and I turned back to Pele.
But now, 25 years later, I couldn't tell Mick that story. It would take too long. It came to no point. And there was a good chance Mick didn't  remember any of the '70s, let alone this one soccer  game.
Snyder was as nervous about meeting the Stones as I was. He had made Redskins jerseys for them, each individualized with  their names. He had helmets to give them, inscribed "Hail to the Redskins" and "Hail to the Stones."
"What are you going to say when you meet them?" I asked.
"I don't know," Snyder said. "That's why you're here. You're the writer." 
"Hey, this is casual conversation, not 'Moby Dick.'  We were told to be in the stadium tunnel by 7:30,  almost two hours before the Stones would actually perform. (One of the  Stones' handlers met us and said, "Wait here. We'll bring the talent to you."
Very edgy.) I stood there like a dope, holding a couple of helmets. I was completely
panicked. Snyder was counting on me to say something that would break the ice. All I had was,  "So, you guys taken any good drugs in the last hour?"
What Snyder wanted most was a photograph of him with the Stones. To that end he brought a photographer with him. (Oh,  like you wouldn't?) I  understood completely. I was prepared to jump through  fire to be in the shot.
Suddenly they were in front of us. Ron Wood and Keith  Richards, slouching and laughing conspiratorially. Charlie Watts, thin as a reed. And finally Mick. I  wasn't so much struck by how old they appeared, as  how miniature. Jagger  was the biggest and he fits in the glove compartment.  The most any of them  can weigh is 130. They seemed somnambulant. I had the sense that behind  their guitars, the second most important piece of equipment the Stones traveled with was a respirator. (Later they put on such a great, energetic show that it was impossible to believe these were the same people. We must have caught them in a cocooning period.) 
I tried to engage Keith in conversation. I mentioned  a "60 Minutes II" piece I'd seen on the Stones. I told Keith he came across by far the best. He appeared to smile at me, and some sort of sound came from his mouth that reminded me of what you get when you tape record  dolphins. I was sure Keith and I could be great friends if only we could
 find a common language. (I don't know if this comes across in videos, but Keith actually has fish hooks and sinkers tied to his hair. I didn't know whether to chat him up or weigh him!)
I handed a helmet to Watts, who seemed concerned.
"They wear these, don't they?" he asked me.
"Yes."
"Well, if we have them, what will they wear?"
"Don't worry," I assured him. "They have others. They won't go out on the field bare-headed." 
This seemed to mollify him. To my right Snyder and his wife Tanya were talking
to Mick. Tanya had brought a magazine with Mick on the cover, and she'd  asked him to autograph it.
"To Dan," she said.
"How do you spell Dan?" Mick asked. Sort of stops you cold, doesn't it?
"To, T-O, Dan, D-A-N," Tanya said. I leaned my head over. Snyder introduced me as
> someone on ESPN.  For all Mick knew I could have been the night manager at Burger King. "I  don't watch much ESPN," Jagger said. "Unless they have soccer on."
This, of course, would have been a perfect opening for me to tell the Pele story. Instead I opted for this gem: "It's an honor to meet you. I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I named my son after you."
Jagger regarded me warily. "That is so weird," he  said. And quickly brushed  by me.
 (He hears it all the time? Gaaack! He probably only  hears that when somebody hits him with a paternity suit.)
That's it? That's your big moment with Mick Jagger?
What a stooge you  must have felt like.
Uh, yeah.
But we were all thrilled at actually meeting the Stones and shaking their hands. I never expected to do that in my life. We  were bouncing with joy. 
Snyder told me the "To Dan" story, and I told him the helmet story.
"That was great, wasn't it?" he said. "Meeting the Rolling Stones!"
"Yeah, congratulations. And to think it only cost you  $800 million."

Wood art a rock show

Stones guitarist plies a mean brush

From globeandmail.com, Monday, October 21, 2002


DAVID MACFARLANE

 Departing briefly from what must surely be the most tedious question in the entertainment world (are the Rolling Stones too old, yawn, to play rock 'n' roll?), I thought I might instead address the subject of generosity.

However, I do so with the Rolling Stones in mind. We went to see them a few nights ago.

(Sound of furiously flipping pages, as my 25-to-35-year-old readers -- all seven of them -- head for the hills.)

And whatever critical debates anyone might have about the show, and whether you love, hate, or are indifferent to their music, there is one uncontestable fact about the Rolling Stones that I would like to draw to the attention of anyone still with me. They are extremely generous performers.

They play long, carefully-put-together sets. They choose their songs, and the order of their songs, with evident care. The technology of their concerts -- the sound, the lights, the big-screen, show-biz razzmatazz -- is slick and professional and designed to ensure that everyone, whether their tickets cost $300 or $50, feels that they are in good seats. On this tour, the band uses two stages -- one, arena-sized but blessedly simple; the other, a smaller, even more simple bar-band setup that rises from the back of the arena floor about two-thirds of the way through the show and that suddenly makes many not-so-great seats very good indeed.

More importantly though, the Rolling Stones throw themselves into their concerts with enthusiasm. Indeed, so enthusiastic was Keith Richard's throwing of himself onto the stage the other night, the indomitable guitarist went telecaster over tea-kettle before the band was past the first bars of the opening song. Still, he came up from being down with a smile and with a certain wobbly but undeniable panache -- as seems to be our Keith's wont.

Perhaps their camaraderie and their apparent delight in still being together after all these years is an illusion. Maybe they really hate one another, can hardly wait to get back to the hotel, are bored stiff, and are laughing all the way to their banks. But I doubt it, frankly. They play too well and appear to be having too much fun doing so to be merely pretending. They have discovered -- and, after the 40 years of playing, it is hardly surprising that they have -- how to combine being well-rehearsed with being exciting.

They know how to entertain, and their secret is simple: in sharing with us the obvious enjoyment they take in their music, they give their audience more than they are strictly required to give.

They don't have to work as hard as they do. They don't have to appear to be having so much fun. They don't have to begin the show at 9:30 and take their bows after midnight. They don't have to because, frankly, their most devoted fans would cheer themselves hoarse if the band mailed the show in. But the fact is, the Stones are gloriously generous entertainers. It's as if they've decided that if they're going to go to the trouble of putting on a show, they're not going to be skimpy about it.

Likely, the Rolling Stones are on my mind because my ears are still ringing with them. Possibly, though, their generosity of performance is a subject I want to raise because being generous seems a quality more observed in its breach these days. I don't think this is because Canadians are particularly selfish. I think it has to do with the fact that too many are sticklers when it comes to rules.

After all, generosity is a characteristic that has to do with bending rules -- which may be why the Rolling Stones are so good at it. Generosity has to do with deciding to give excessively if one so chooses, for no reason other than wanting to. Rules, on the other hand, frequently address themselves to bureaucratic efficiency and to the minimum requirement. They are the strictly measured shot glasses of behaviour.

A few nights before my wife and I attended the Stones concert, my more-extended family went to a fine restaurant near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., for a Thanksgiving dinner. We made reservations for 10, but when we arrived -- due to an inexplicable miscalculation about how many people are in our family -- there turned out to be 11 of us.

No big deal you would imagine. But then you wouldn't be the pretty, smartly put-together, but humourless hostess we ran up against. She informed us coolly that 10 was the most that could be accommodated at a table. We assured her we did not mind crowding in. We said we would prefer to all sit together -- as families like to do at Thanksgiving.

She did not return our smiles. So we cajoled, we pleaded. But she would not be budged. So a few of us began to get huffy. Which only made things worse. Rules were rules, she said. And so, on a busy weekend night, with nowhere else to go, we sat at two tables.

I have been doing my best to forget about her. Life's too short. And anyway, the food and the wine were excellent, as was our friendly waitress, and we all enjoyed ourselves in spite of the pickle our hostess apparently sat on during her formative years. But she popped back into mind the other night as the audience filed from the Air Canada Centre after the concert, and I noticed how many people were smiling. Generosity has that effect. And it occurred to me that pretty, smartly put-together, humourless types who have not yet learned so important a truth about being human might do well to spend some time in the company of the Rolling Stones. I'm sure Keith could teach her a thing or two.

Hear Chuck Leavell's NPR radio interview

plus his own version of Tumbling Dice, as well as some jams with slide guitarist Roy Rogers (taped Friday October 25)

Rolling Stones sideman sues Nashville dentist

By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF, Staff Writer

A Nashville tenor saxophonist who has played with the Rolling Stones for decades has accused a Nashville dentist of performing a faulty procedure that is keeping the musician off the band's tour and is otherwise damaging his music career.

Bobby Keys, known for his work on popular albums such as the Stones' Exile on Main Street and Sticky Fingers, blames caps that will not stay on his teeth for keeping him off the tour. The caps also kept him from playing on the Rolling Stones' latest release, the suit states.

His malpractice suit, which is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, was filed yesterday in Davidson County Circuit Court.

Attempts to reach Keys and his attorneys were unsuccessful yesterday.

The dentist identified in the suit, H. Larry Grissom, said in a telephone interview yesterday that Keys' teeth were in poor shape when he started seeing the saxophonist as a patient. Grissom said he started working on Keys' teeth a year ago to correct what another dentist had done.

''It was a mess,'' said Grissom, whose practice is on 21st Avenue South. ''Once I got all the old stuff out, then we had problems from there.''

The procedure was done around August of last year, Keys' suit states.

Grissom said he had not seen the suit and will be reviewing it with a lawyer.

In his lawsuit, Keys said faulty procedures caused him to lose ''thousands of dollars'' and threatened his career. Keys receives $5,000 per appearance, according to his suit.

The Rolling Stones have been on tour in the United States since early last month. They play in Atlanta this weekend and are scheduled for a Nov. 25 show at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

A Toronto dentist told Keys that Grissom ''ground away too much material, leaving stumps that were too small to hold the crowns in a stable condition,'' the lawsuit states.

Grissom, in yesterday's interview, also raised questions about whether Keys was biting too hard on a piece stuck on the end of his instrument, called a setup, which causes saxophones to make noise.

Keys had a history of similar dental procedures, Grissom said. Keys' teeth were breaking off and falling out, Grissom said. One tooth even had to be removed, Grissom said. The old dental work had to be taken out, he said.

Keys' suit said Grissom is ''negligent'' in that he ''repeatedly assured Keys that the procedure was routine, that (Grissom) had performed the procedure on numerous occasions and that there was no risk…'' it would keep Keys from working as a professional sax player.

Keys has been playing saxophone since the 1950s, with artists such as Buddy Holly, Sheryl Crow and B.B. King, according to the allmusic.com Web site.

After 40 years of rocking, Mick Jagger and company are still rolling

By Craig Seymour, Atlanta Journal 

AS CONGRESS BICKERS, FORESTS BURN

Chuck Leavell
-----------------------------------------------------------

Mother Nature is finally doing what Congress was unable to
do this session, putting out wildfires that have burned in
all 50 states, destroying nearly 7 million acres of national
forests.

The snowfalls that now are mercifully extinguishing the
fires contrast starkly with the icy chill President Bush's
Healthy Forest Initiative received on Capitol Hill, where it
has been stalled for months by partisan bickering.

 And, while Congress squabbled, the forests burned.

 When the issue is forests, the debate in Washington has
become all-too-predictable. Each side trots out the same old
arguments and the same old advocates, and the result too
often is gridlock. But, as America's 10 million family
forest owners know well - if you want to keep your forests
healthy and growing, doing nothing in the face of massive
threats just isn't an option.

 This year seemed to mark a turning point. Mr. Bush
introduced a sensible, scientifically sound plan for
preventing the devastation caused by unchecked wildfires on
federal forests. Then, for a hopeful moment, both sides
reached across party lines to find a compromise.

 Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat,
took the first risk by inserting language into a spending
bill to exempt federal rules and allow a timber sale to
proceed in his home state. He understood that years of
suppressing wildfires had set the stage for catastrophic
fires in the future.

 Sen. Larry E. Craig, Idaho Republican, and Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, California Democrat, then worked together to pass
similar reforms in the Senate, while Rep. Scott McInnis,
Colorado Republican, and Rep. George Miller, California
Democrat, are still trying to reach a solution in the House.

 Taking the stand that careful harvesting can actually be
good for forest management was an important step for
Democrats this year. Mr. Miller and Rep. Peter DeFazio,
Oregon Democrat, made it clear to green groups during House
hearings that they believe it is time to actively manage
forests, and they have negotiated in good faith with
Republicans to find a solution.

 But as time runs out, it becomes clear this is a battle
that must be carried over into the 108th session of
Congress.

 The summer of 2002 was the second-largest fire season in
the last 50 years. More than 67,000 wildfires scorched the
earth. But few of those fires devastated family owned
forests. Why? Because, like my wife Rose Lane and me, most
family forest owners know the best stewards must be part of
the environmental equation. We actively manage our forests
by thinning, removing fuel buildup and performing carefully
prescribed burns every few years so we can prevent the kind
of disastrous wildfires we've seen this year on federal
forests.

 We're very proud of the stewardship at our family forest,
Charlane Plantation. We do a lot of the work ourselves, and
over the years we've made it a much better place, with
bountiful wildlife and healthy watersheds, and we're working
hard to make it even better. I believe our national forests
would be far healthier if they were managed like our
family-owned forest.

 The great pioneers that established the national forest
system, Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot and others, knew
long ago how important good stewardship is, and that it just
doesn't happen - you have to work at it. Our forests belong
to all Americans, and while trees cannot vote or send in
campaign donations, they deserve protection through
intelligent and active management, not by fencing them off
to human activity and watching them burn.

 Sadly, this year's congressional session answered the
age-old question: Millions of trees fell in the forests, and
Congress did not hear the sound.


 Chuck Leavell is an award-winning tree farmer and
world-renowned pianist currently touring with the Rolling
Stones. He is author of a book on American forests called
"Forever Green."

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, a keen hoops player in his youth, has become the newest recruit to the National Basketball Association.

The veteran English rock band has joined forces with the NBA for a promotional campaign that will air throughout the league's season, which begins on Tuesday, both parties said on Monday.

A 30-second ``Love It Live'' TV spot mixing footage from the Stones' current North American tour with game action highlights, will debut on Tuesday when the Philadelphia 76ers play the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio Spurs take on defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers.

The ad will depict the group performing its new single ``Don't Stop,'' which is taken from its compilation album ``Forty Licks.''

NBA stars featured in the ad include Jason Kidd, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett, a statement said.

Jagger's father, a retired sports professor, helped make basketball popular in Britain, and he coached his son's high school team.

His bandmates, guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood, are better known for their prowess at the snooker table. 

(10/29/02, 7 a.m. ET) -- There's been no shortage of Rolling Stones books, tawdry and otherwise, released throughout the group's 40-year history. Guitarist Ron Wood tells LAUNCH that the band, currently on its Licks tour of North America, isn't expecting too many embarrassing revelations from the latest entry--the just-published Rolling With The Stones, a lavish coffee-table-sized book co-authored by former Stones bassist Bill Wyman. "No, I think it's a bit too late for that. No, I've seen excerpts in magazines. I mean, we all have a laugh when we see what could be in store."

The 496-page Rolling With The Stones--which features more than 3,000 photos, many of which were taken by Wyman himself--is the second Stones book from the bassist, who left the band in 1992. His previous offering, Stone Alone, was a more personal memoir that covered his life and the Stones' career until 19