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My first awareness of the Rolling Stones was via a single by Bobby Jameson ca. 1964, who was backed by members of the group on a one-time gig put together by Andrew Loog Oldham. I came to realize that they were a great white blues band, getting closer to the real thing on tracks like I Can't be Satisfied and Confessin' the Blues, as compared to the Beatles who were more a pop band. Satisfaction, their big breakthrough, was such a huge hit in part because it had strong appeal in Black communities, a fact I discovered in 1967.
But the Stones drifted through a period of pap while the Beatles were doing better, particularly hitting a low point with Satanic Majesties (original title: Her Satanic Majesty Requests). Then things really picked up with blues-oriented tunes like Paint it Black, Jumpin Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women, Sympathy For The Devil, Midnight Rambler, etc.
Finally as the 60's intensified with the Vietnam War and the Chicago Convention, the Stones were moving inexorably toward the grand climax - the 1969 tour and its finalé at Altamont. The fact that one man with a gun threatening to shoot someone was stabbed by Hells Angels security, wasn't a big deal in terms of criminal play or terror death by bomb or trampling, but it was enormously sensational because of the band and its music. Not only Sympathy For The Devil and its lyrics, but the very dark and threatening tone of Midnight Rambler ("I'll put a fist through your steel-plate door", or "I'll stick my knife right down your throat, baby, and it hurts").
I got out of the military in November, returned to my full-time doper community and communes, got a copy of Live'r Than You'll Ever Be, got up to date on many things in music like Pink Floyd's Ummagumma, and cruised from there to Kent State where I was a participant in May 1970. But the Rolling Stones and their blues were at the core of my music life, right down to the darkest aspects of what they suggested ("I don't care if you're 15 years old - I don't want your ID").
The Stones had some good moments in the 1970's with a few decent blues tunes, and even a great rock-n-roll track called She's So Cold in 1980. But nearly all of their live performances I've heard in recordings were terrible, with bad singing on Jagger's part, with one notable exception - the 1969 live album from their tour, and the Live'r bootleg as well. Mick retained his energy and a certain athleticism well past 50, even 60 possibly, but it never translated to good live vocal performances. Compare him to Roger Daltry or Adam Ant, who were excellent performers beyond 50 years old.