Present at the Creation
An Exclusive Interview With Ian Stewart, The Real Sixth Rolling Stone, On A Decade And A Half In The Stones Brigade
"I got involved in this as an enthusiastic amateur who liked the real black rock and roll — Chuck Berry, R & B, the older jazz (Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins). 1 liked to play a little, and I have always disliked the really insincere, greedy, self-congratulatory side of show business. If my face ever appeared in Cash Box or Billboard I would die." –Ian Stewart, 1975
Ian Stewart began the Rolling Stones with Brian Jones in 1961 and has been with the band ever since. He has played piano on their albums and with them onstage, co-ordinates recording sessions, has the official title of "Road Manager" and refers to himself as "company secretary." It is impossible for anyone who has spent any time around the Stones to imagine the bqnd without "Stu." Throughout the 1975 U.S. Tour of the Americas, 1 pestered him to do this interview, the only one he's ever done. The following remarks were made on two occasions; in Atlanta on July 31, 1975, and in New York, August 13, 1975. (L. Robinson)
