(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Mon 9 June 2025 17:15, UK
There’s no question that The Rolling Stones took a huge amount of inspiration from the blues musicians of the 1950s when they first emerged in the following decade, but despite there being a solid emergence of talent coming from the UK’s own blues scene around the same time, much of their influence was stemming from the true originators of the genre over in the US.
The classic rock group formed in 1962 after the merger of two separate blues bands who had been performing in the southeast of England, with members realising they shared common ground and choosing to abandon their previous projects and start producing music together. Frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards had both been in the Blues Boys in their hometown of Dartford, having initially bonded over their mutual love of records by the likes of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, while other guitarist Brian Jones and drummer Charlie Watts were a part of the London-based Blues Incorporated at the same time.
When they eventually crossed paths, they immediately struck up a desire to form their own group, and eventually began jamming together before adopting the new and far more original-sounding name they’re known by today. However, it wasn’t just the trio of aforementioned acts that acted as the main source of inspiration for the group in their formative years, and a love of music from the American South, specifically the Mississippi Delta, would guide Jagger towards some of his most long-lasting musical loves.
Of course, the Stones would eventually develop into far more than just a blues band, with the broadening influence of Jones guiding their transition towards rock, pop and psychedelia later in the decade, but Jagger’s infatuation with the sound of the blues remained an integral part of the band’s identity throughout their formative years and into their rise to fame.
Jagger’s vocal delivery, in particular, has always shared a striking resemblance to the vocal styles that were adopted by many of the legendary American bluesmen, carrying the same coarseness as vocalists like Howlin’ Wolf. However, it wasn’t just Wolf’s vocals that he proclaimed to be captivating, but one of his band members also had a style that he believed ought to have been an inspiration for all other aspiring musicians.
Speaking after his passing in 2011, Jagger paid tribute to Howlin’ Wolf’s longtime guitarist Hubert Sumlin, with the Stones frontman also reportedly offering to pay for the musician’s funeral as an act of appreciation for his work. “Hubert was an incisive yet delicate blues player,” he said in an obituary. “He had a really distinctive and original tone and was a wonderful foil for Howlin’ Wolf’s growling vocal style,” before concluding, “he was an inspiration to us all.”
With an electrifying style that saw him often burst out strings of notes in a frenzy, there have been few guitarists like Sumlin in the world of blues, or indeed in the wider rock and roll context. While his role as a sideman to Howlin’ Wolf often meant that he was overshadowed, his guitar excellence is still acknowledged by many to this day, with him regularly being lauded as one of the finest blues players to have ever lived.
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