Bill Wyman
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Bill Wyman (born October 24, 1936) was the bassist for the British rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from its founding in 1962 until 1991.
Wyman born was William George Perks in Penge, Kent (UK). He took piano lessons from ages 10 to 13 and later taught himself bass guitar.
In recent years, Wyman has been performing and playing with the Rhythm Kings. He is also the author of the books Stone Alone and Rolling with the Stones.
Wyman, despite his reputation as the quiet Rolling Stone, was embroiled in controversy in the 1980s when he started dating teenage model Mandy Smith, who was 13 when she met Wyman. The two eventually married in 1989 and divorced in 1991.
Wyman's work as a Rolling Stone, both in the studio and during concerts, rarely involved him providing vocals. One notable exception was the song "In Another Land," released both on the Their Satanic Majesties Request album and oddly enough, released also as a solo Bill Wyman single. A second Wyman penned song, "Downtown Suzie", was released on a collection of Rolling Stones outtakes, with the title of the song altered by Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein without informing either Wyman or the band.
Wyman kept a detailed daily journal of his days with the Rolling Stones. He used this journal extensively to refresh his memory for his history of the Rolling Stones, "Rolling with The Stones."
Evidently Wyman maintained a friendly relationship with the first member of the Rolling Stones to voluntarily leave the band, guitarist Mick Taylor, as he continued to work with Taylor on solo projects from time to time after Taylor left the band.
The essential riff to "Jumpin' Jack Flash" was created by Wyman, although the song itself retained the authorship of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
External links
- Bill Wyman's website (http://www.billwyman.com/)
- The Rolling Stones website (http://www.therollingstones.com/)
- Solo discography (http://www.rocksoff.org/bill.htm)
- IMDB entry for Bill Wyman (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0943827/)