Keith Richards’ famous skull ring. How the obsession began.

Over the past 30 years Keith Richards silver skull ring has taken on its own mythology and iconic status. The most famous ring in the world has come to signify not only Keith Richards the man – seen wearing it at every gig and in every photograph – but Rock and Roll itself. The ring has inspired both an international cult following and unlimited fake copies. There have been countless claims as to who designed and made the original but this is the true story.

In 1978 the celebrated London goldsmiths David Courts and Bill Hackett were working on a small scale silver sculpture of a human skeleton. Using a real skull for reference they carved a perfect miniature replica which they then moulded. When the hollow wax skull was removed from its mould the inspiration for the ring was born. Further experimentation led to the creation of the original silver skull ring. At the same time an invitation arrived from Keith Richards to his birthday party in New York – so Bill and David decided that the new ring would make a fantastic present. From the moment he put it on his finger, the magic began and he has worn it ever since.

Since Keith put on the original Courts and Hackett skull ring in 1978, David and Bill have received countless requests for a copy but their original decision that the ring should remain unique has meant that there is no replica mould and no duplicates.

Now, for the first time and only available from them is a magnificent new deaths head ring sculpted from the same human skull used for the original.

Using unique techniques developed in their workshop they have created the ultimate skull ring. Exquisite details include an immaculately carved bone structure, individual teeth and finely engraved cranium.

Crafted in solid 925 silver each ring will be stamped with the Courts and Hackett hallmark guaranteeing authenticity, date, materials used and country of origin.

http://www.courtsandhackett.com/new_ring.html

http://members.tripod.com/blue_lena/news2009.html

*Thanks to Tamara Guo, (aka Blue Lena) the most die-hard Keef fan I know.

Exile On Main Street. The greatest Rolling Stones album ever?

A billboard on Sunset Blvd promoting the new album. As you can imagine, not without controversy.

Exile on Main Street was a 1972 release (on Atlantic Records) by The Rolling Stones, with cover artwork & design by John Van Hamersveld. When the Rolling Stones released Exile in 1972 – a double album of songs representing the many different genres of music that shaped Stones music at the time – fans and critics found themselves having to spend a lot of time trying to “get it”. It required a number of listens to gain an appreciation of what, on the surface, often seemed to be a collection of studio out-takes and Richards/Taylor/Watts jams than a freshly-recorded musical offering.

Many critics of the era failed to appreciate the Stones’ explorations of R&B, Soul, Country and roots Rock that were spread over the 4 album sides. In fact, the record was comprised of a series of recordings done during the previous four years and, as such, they featured a variety of mixes (some better than others) and showed the band building on top of these influences in their own inimitable style to the point that, now over 35 years later, the package is considered by many to be the band’s most-authentic offering. It is always listed near the top of most of the “Best Of” and “Greatest” lists (#7 on the Rolling Stone Magazine 2003 list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, #22 on VH-1’s survey, and even impressed the younger generation enough to be ranked #11 on Pitchfork’s 2003 list of Best Albums of the 1970s).

In a similar fashion, when the buying public took their first look at the design and imagery of the sprawling record cover, most people admitted that they didn’t “get it”. Having just soaked in Warhol’s ultimately-iconic zipper cover for Sticky Fingers, fans should have been ready for anything, but John Van Hamersveld’s designs seemed to confound them, asking them to digest a rough, anti-establishment, punk-before-there-was-punk collage of images that may have, initially, combined with the unfamiliar musical stylings to impact sales (don’t worry, as the record was supported by the now-famous 1972 American concert tour and songs such as “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice” got some significant radio play, the record went on to top the charts in the U.S. and the U.K.).

And so when Van Hamersveld, who’d established his industry cred via his poster and package designs for Hendrix, The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour), Jefferson Airplane (Crown of Creation) and others, was approached by the Rolling Stones (who were in a studio in LA putting the finishing touches on this new album) to work on the graphics and packaging for a songbook project the band wanted to release, an interesting series of events on the day of their initial meeting had a profound impact on the course of album art history.

Super rare promo poster featuring 3-Ball Charlie.

Bill Janovitz' book on Exile. A must read.

Above is the ultra rare Exile Store Display.

Read the complete story behind this great work of art on our RockPoP Gallery/”Cover Story” blog -
http://rockpopgallery.typepad.com/rockpop_gallery_news/2008/04/cover-story—t.html

The secret gig that wasn’t a secret. The Rolling Stones play Sir Morgan’s Cove, 1981 Worcester, MA.

RARE T-SHIRT, KEITH, RONNIE GUITAR PICKS AND TICKET STUB FROM THE INFAMOUS SHOW.

The Rolling Stones’ “private” jam session at Sir Morgan’s Cove was supposed to be just that — private — and also secret, with the Stones attempting to pass incognito as the Cockroaches. But as the nature of the business would have it, there was a leak. It occurred early in the day Monday after weeks of rumors. And before the day was over, the local media would claim that “history has been made in Worcester.”
Before the Stones finished their free two-hour concert early yesterday morning for 300 “randomly selected” fans, local police would arrest and charge six people with offenses ranging from drinking in public to illegally “launching missiles” (beer cans, mostly). The Worcester police department’s already depleted overtime budget would be $5,000 more in the red. And the city’s sanitation workers would be faced with a block-long layer of beer cans, bottles and trash.
But for all that, the corporate brass of the local FM radio station that helped organize, promote and execute the event at Sir Morgan’s would be more than pleased. In the intensely competitive hard-rock market surrounding Boston, WAAF-FM had scored a major coup.

Steve Stockman, 23, WAAF’s promotions director, said he kept in constant contact with members of the band, but “it wasn’t until last Friday that everything started to gel. Ian Stewart, the group’s keyboard player, told me the group wanted to make some small, private night-club appearances. They hadn’t appeared before an audience in three years, and they needed to warm up to crowds before Philadelphia.”
Stockman said Stewart had selected Sir Morgan’s on his own. He said Stewart had anonymously visited “every bar in Worcester” in search of a place that seated no more than 400, had a low ceiling and a high stage.
“All he needed was a mechanism to get tickets out to loyal fans in the area without revealing the location of the event,” Stockman said. Together, WAAF and the Stones decided that the station would start announcing on Monday morning that the Stones were giving such a performance, but that no tickets could be purchased.
Instead, the station announced, representatives of WAAF and the group would be driving the streets of Worcester throughout the day looking for people wearing WAAF T-shirts or with WAAF bumper stickers either on themselves or their cars.
They, and they alone, would get the mere 300 nontransferable, laser-etched, computer-coded tickets marked, “Blue Monday” and “The Cockroaches.”

A Boston rock station, an arch-competitor of WAAF, was leaked the information by either Worcester police or a member of the band that played before the Stones were to perform at Sir Morgan’s. And the Boston station immediately began broadcasting not only where the Stones would appear, but also that people should stay away.
“They said there’d be a riot there or something,” Stockman said. “It was awful, and the Stones were almost as furious with that station as we were. But to tell you honestly, we did get lucky. It easily could have turned into mayhem. All I can say is thank God for the rain.”

Source http://www.studiowner.com/essays/essay.asp?books=0&pagnum=3001

TICKET STUB

SET LIST FROM THE SHOW DIRECTLY FROM IAN MCLARGEN KEYBOARD PLAYER.

209 reasons this is the rarest Rolling Stones poster around.

ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL ROLLING STONES RECORD STORE POSTERS.

RARE RECORD STORE MOBILE, CIRCA 1969.

In the wake of Brian Jones untimely death in July of 1969, London Records embarked on a campaign to promote The Rolling Stones as the WORLD’S GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND.
A moniker they would still carry some 40 years later.

The attached images are 2 rare items from that period of time. The mobile is the first promotional item to feature Mick Taylor the Stones newest member replacing the deceased Brian Jones.

The poster references all 15 albums and 20 singles on London Records. “Let it Bleed” the last album Jones was to contribute on. “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” the live recording featured Mick Taylor.

Joe Perry and The Joe Perry Project. The Admiral keeps rocking.

The Joe Perry Project. Their debut record, Let the Music Do the Talking, reached #47 on the Billboard album charts, selling 250,000 copies domestically. While sales and reviews were respectable the group mainly thrived as a live act. It managed to do so even after its second album, I’ve Got the Rock’n'Rolls Again, went largely ignored.

In the end, the Project never solidified a lineup; all three studio releases would feature a different lead vocalist and the entire roster was replaced before their final effort (1983’s Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.) Even a brief stint with fellow Aerosmith exile, rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, failed to ignite things again and the group found themselves with minimal label support by 1984.

A compilation album, The Music Still Does the Talking: The Best of the Joe Perry Project, was released by an Australian Indie Record label in 1999.

Perry released his first solo record, the self-titled Joe Perry, in May 2005. Recorded at his home studio (The Boneyard) in suburban Boston, with every instrument but the drums played by Perry himself. Critics also responded favorably; Rolling Stone magazine crowned it with three-and-a-half (out of five) stars, declaring “A Joe Perry solo joint? about time!” He was also nominated for “Best Rock Instrumental” at the 2006 Grammys for the track “Mercy” but lost to Les Paul. (Hey if you’re going to lose it might as well be to your hero right?)

In 2009, while on tour with Aerosmith, Joe Perry announced that he will be releasing a new Joe Perry Project album entitled “Have Guitar, Will Travel”, set to release the album on October 6, 2009. The first single from the album will be called “Long Way to Go.” This will mark the first Joe Perry Project album since 1983’s Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker, and the 5th Joe Perry solo album in total counting the 2005 self titled album.

Joe’s new and fifth solo CD Have Guitar, Will Travel, named by Joe Piscitelli, one of nearly 2,000 names given as part of a Twitter search, reveals even more intriguing layers of the guitarist who was immortalized in 2008 when Activision released the Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith, sales of which broke records and further solidified another generation of fans for Joe and Aerosmith.

Have Guitar Will Travel, follows self-produced solo releases including Let The Music Do The Talking (1980), Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker (1984) and I’ve Got The Rock ‘N’ Rolls Again (1981). Recorded this past Spring at the BoneYard, Perry’s state-of-the-art home studio, where Aerosmith’s Honkin’ On Bobo and Just Push Play were recorded, Have Guitar, Will Travel is a ten-song CD written and produced by Perry, complete with his trademark rock and blues ferocity.

The CD’s blazing first single “We’ve Got A Long Way To Go,” showcases the voice of a young German singer known as Hagen, found completely by chance on YouTube by Joe’s wife Billie. “I first called him from Cleveland when I went to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jam with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Flea and Metallica,” said Perry. “It took several minutes to convince him that it wasn’t a prank call, but a true invitation to audition to sing on the CD.” Hagen mans the microphone for five tracks, while Perry sings lead on four. The remaining tenth song is an instrumental entitled “Wooden Ships.”

“Freedom,” a hard-driving signature Perry track, was written during an election year. “On this record, as opposed to my last solo CD, I thought that I’d write a bit more about what is going on outside instead of inside, and freedom is a really good example of that,” said Perry. “It’s musically inspired by Hunter S. Thompson’s book “Fear and Loathing” that I read during the seventies. Those images have always stuck with me. In fact, I think I lived a bit of it.”

Still as scorching hot on guitar as he is preternaturally cool in his persona, Perry attracted an eclectic blend of musicians with whom he recorded. Drummer Ben Tileston, a Boston University percussion graduate, who plays drums with two of Perry’s sons in TAB The Band, joined an esteemed roster of some of the best that the music world has to offer; Bassist David Hull, who played with The Buddy Miles Band at 19 and was in the Joe Perry Project in the 80s, Paul Santo, whose played Hammond Organ/Pipe Organ with the likes of Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Ozzy Osbourne, drummers Scott Meeder and Marty Richards and Willie “Loco” Alexander, Boston’s “Godfather of Punk,” who was part of the Bostown sound of the band “the Bagatelle.”

It was Alexander who helped Perry pay tribute to the legendary Gene Vincent on the track “Head Kicked In Tonight.” “If Elvis was the “Dom Perignon,” Gene Vincent is the “White Lightening Moonshine” with a stiletto in his boot,” said Perry. “With the Boogie Woogie played by Willie (Alexander), we had a great time recording this song. It turned out to be quite a party.”

Perry is planning a “short, fast, hard tour” with the Joe Perry Project after Have Guitar, Will Travel is released. “That’s what I’m really looking forward to – getting back out there with some old friends and some other musicians and doing it like it used to be done.”

Perry’s solo credits include composing the theme song for the “Spiderman” animated TV series, as well as the instrumental music for the independent movie “This Thing of Ours,” which starred James Caan. In late 2006, at the personal invitation of Chuck Berry, Perry jammed with Mr. Berry and his band at his 80th birthday celebration at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis. Joe also lent his guitar virtuosity to Mick Jagger’s Goddess in the Doorway and played guitar on Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute To A Legend, amongst many others.

He was a huge influence on Slash, who after hearing Rocks decided to take up the guitar rather than race BMX. Slash owned Perry’s old ‘59 Les Paul, but later returned it as a birthday present.

http://www.joeperry.com/

A super rare gigantic Joe Perry Project poster.

Keith Richards signed a lot of stuff over the years. And he got tired of writing his name.

Handwritten fanclub letter circa 1964-1965

When you’re Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, people want you.
They want stuff from you.
A hello, a handshake, maybe even a kiss.

But mostly, they want your autograph or picture with them.

They’ll chase you into bathrooms, around airports, in and out of cars, restaurants, before concerts after concerts, in and out of hotel lobbies and clubs, anywhere they can get to to sign a scrap of paper, a picture or an album.
Just to say they have something from their idol.
Something that says that moment really happened.
That someone famous and important recognized the need to connect with them.
Even if eye contact was never made.
It’s like for a brief moment, they know you actually exist.
They know you.

Which is why I have to assume collecting autographs is one of the most popular areas in memorabilia.
I have to also assume that after signing “stuff” for 45 or so years, you get well, a little tired.
And lazy.
And bored.
So, your signature begins to change.
Not all that interested in anybody being able to read what you just wrote.
They know it’s you, right?
That’s all that matters.

From something that could be considered at least a strong B in penmanship class, to a scribble that’s hardly able to be identified.

Here’s a series of signed Keith Richards items, from the 60’s to the late 90’s.
You can see how his signature has evolved over the years.

It’s amazing he still takes the time to sign.
Thanks Keith.

Circa 1965

1965

1964-65

1977....10 plus years later.

1978, the back of a cigarette pack.

The 80's.

The 90's......Beginning to scribble.

1995 and 1999.

Mick Jagger thinks about stuff. Like how to sell more records and make more money.

Rare French Tattoo You 3-D display.

This is an incredible grouping of rare items that’s gives you a peek into the mind of a marketing genius.

Mick Jagger.

The head of the Stones business empire from day one was concerned and spent countless hours thinking about maximum sales potential, the band’s marketability and how they could always do a better job.
A perfectionist when it came to recording, selling records and how marketing played a role in both.

Here’s a collection of handwritten notes and thoughts about how they might do a better job at selling in his words, “The last Stones studio album till 1983,” their newest album “Tattoo You.”

Tattoo You was released in 1981.
“Start Me Up” was released in August 1981, just a week before Tattoo You, to a very strong response, reaching the top 10 in both the U.S. and the U.K. Widely considered one of their most infectious songs, it was enough to carry Tattoo You to #1 for nine weeks in the US, while reaching #2 in the UK with solid sales. It has been certified four times platinum in the US alone. The critical reaction was positive, many feeling that Tattoo You was an improvement over Emotional Rescue and a high-quality release. “Waiting On A Friend” and “Hang Fire” became popular Top 20 US hits as well.

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo_You

These notes written by Jagger, were given to Art Collins President of Rolling Stones records, to bring to a meeting to convey Mick’s thoughts, suggestions and concerns.

Check it out.

1 of 5 pages of notes.

2 of 5 pages of notes.

Description from Jeff Gold of Recordmecca from his website. Mick's single picks for Tattoo You.

Framed handwritten picks for Tattoo You.

Charlie Watts is right….you can’t sign drumsticks.

Concert used memorabilia in collecting is rare and difficult to find. Authenticating that the item was concert used is even more difficult and documentation is even harder to find.

Which makes the pictured item rare indeed.

Concert used and signed drumsticks belonging to Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones.

For starters, they are Ludwig drumsticks.
Charlie used and played Ludwig back in the 80’s.
He now uses Vic Firth.
Secondly they were played at a very unique concert.
December 18, 1981 Hampton, VA, the last show of the “Tattoo You” tour, Keith Richards birthday and a specially taped show for television.

Read the letter from Stones President Art Collins on how he obtained the sticks from Charlie after the show.

Aerosmith “Rocks”….but you already knew that.

The following is a review from Rolling Stones magazine, August of 1976.

Whether or not Rocks is hot depends on your vantage point. If your hard-rock tastes were honed in the Sixties, as this band’s obviously were, Aerosmith is a polished echo of Yardbirds’ guitar rock liberally spiced with the Stones’ sexual swagger. If you’re a teen of the Seventies, they are likely to be the flashiest hard-rock band you’ve ever seen. While the band has achieved phenomenal commercial success, their fourth album fails to prove that they can grow and innovate as their models did.

The most winning aspect of Rocks is that ace metal producer Jack Douglas and the band (listed as co-producers for the first time) have returned to the ear-boxing sound that made their second album, Get Your Wings, their best. The guitar riffs and Steven Tyler’s catlike voice fairly jump out of the speakers. This initially hides the fact that the best performances here — “Lick and a Promise,” “Sick as a Dog” and “Rats in the Cellar” — are essentially remakes of the highlights of the relatively flat Toys in the Attic. The songs have all the band’s trademarks and while they can be accused of neither profundity nor originality, Aerosmith’s stylized hard-rock image and sound pack a high-energy punch most other heavy metal bands lack.

Steven Tyler is the band’s obvious focal point, a distinction earned primarily by his adaptation of the sexual stance that missed the young Jack Flash. On the rockers, his delivery is polished and commanding and sufficiently enthusiastic to disguise the general innnocuousness of the lyrics. On the riff-dominated songs, though, such as “Last Child” or “Back in the Saddle,” he is prone to shrieks that don’t bear repetition. Unlike Jagger, his vocal performance cannot save otherwise mediocre material.

The material is Rocks’ major flaw, mostly pale remakes of their earlier hits, notably “Dream On,” a first-album ballad that helped make the complete Aerosmith catalog gold. Aerosmith may have their hard-rock wings, but they won’t truly fly until their inventiveness catches up to their fast-maturing professionalism.

- John Milward, Rolling Stone, 7/29/76.

Source http://www.superseventies.com/spaerosmith2.html

What the hell did he know, right????
Here’s a quote from Slash of Guns and Roses….

Two classic killer tracks came off this beauty.
“Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child.”
Enough said.

Here’s a killer display from the release of the album that shows Aerosmith indeed “Rocks.”

A RARE 3-D DIE-CUT DIAMOND HANGING MOBILE.

http://www.aeroforceone.com/

Vintage Aerosmith concert t-shirts. Get ready to drop some big coin.

Vintage concert t-shirts is big business in the collectibles area.
Shirts from specific tours and shows can command premium prices for these often ragged and torn, moth eaten, too small to wear, pieces of memorabilia from your favorite band and show.
Prices on ebay can run in the $300 plus area for certain early shirts.
I have dozens in my collection.
Most worth shit.
Some worth some decent money.
I don’t really care.
I wear them, I don’t keep them in plastic bags.
Of course as luck would have the ones I love are either too big or too small.

Mostly, I’m too big.

Anyway, here’s just a few rare Aerosmith shirts found online and some part of my own collection.
The earlier ones dating back to the mid 70’s.