The
singer in front of the Rolling Stones, the longest running band in the
history of the world, is Mick Jagger. Whether you like his music or
otherwise, Mick Jagger is a world recognized figure. I actually like the
Stones and always have done, and even attended one of their open air
concerts. I was not disappointed.
So to the book on review this week. The unauthorized biography of Mick
Jagger (ISBN 978-0-06-222206-0, Harper and Collins, 2012) was written by
Philip Norman, author of 22 published books, including previous
autobiographies of people and groups from the roots of rock and roll. Philip
Norman explains in the acknowledgements at the front of the book, why the
autobiography is unauthorized. “Sir Mick talks to writers only when he has
something to sell. He sees no percentage in telling the truth, or having it
told, even where it reflects most positively on himself. The millions are
all in the mythology. And the millions always come first.”
The young “Mike” Jagger is introduced, before he met up with Keith Richards
and became “Mick”, coming from a fairly rigid household, and was noted for
his polite nature. My only personal experience of the early Mick Jagger was
in 1967 when a couple of little old ladies told me that “He was a lovely
boy, our Mick. Always used to help the old ladies across the street and up
the stairs.” Doesn’t quite fit with the stage persona, does it?
One fact that I admit was new to me was that the founder of the Rolling
Stones was neither Mick nor Keith, but Brian Jones. The importance of Andrew
Loog Oldham as their manager is shown, where Mick was slowly thrust into the
forefront, while Brian Jones was pushed, unwillingly, to the rear.
Even the songwriting duo of Jagger and Richards was engineered by Oldham who
understood that for the Stones to progress they had to produce their own
music and not just do covers of other people’s songs. In fact the early
iteration of Jagger and the Stones were all manipulated by Oldham, who was
no older than the Stones themselves. And in a time of excesses, Oldham was
rewarded for delivering the Stones to American promoter Allen Klein with a
Rolls-Royce Phantom V. He was 22.
Mick’s cinematic role in the film ‘Performance’ is covered. A film so
avant-garde that even the 70’s was not ready for it, but which became to be
considered as one of the finest of its genre years later, and Mick given
plaudits for his acting - but then again, as this book shows, Mick Jagger
was always acting!
Not only is this book a chronicle of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, but
it is also a reflection of the times in which the band grew up. One forgets
that in the 60’s women were expected to stay demurely in the background! And
marijuana had just arrived on the British scene.
At B. 605, this 600 page book is a blockbuster. If you have enjoyed the
Rolling Stones over the past 50 years, you will likewise enjoy this book.
