Appraisals of your Rolling Stones memorabilia. How does this work?

I guess it’s about time I finally write up how to get your memorabilia appraised. I’m getting a dozen or so posts a week, sometimes more on “How much is this worth?” or “Where can I get this appraised?”

I’m happy to help out…. for a small fee.

The knowledge I’ve gained over the years  from researching memorabilia, the countless hours online, the gathering of thousands of images and filing them away, the money spent on books and magazines, takes lots of time.

And lots of money.

I’m happy to share this knowledge, but unfortunately can’t do it for free.

If you are interested in having me either appraise your item or sell it, post a comment on my blog. I get an alert to approve this comment.

Usually your email is given to me.

I will contact you directly and ask for details and photos and the information you are looking for.

I have a Paypal account and based on the information you need, will give you a price.

I can also authenticate autographs and provide a letter.

Happy to help.

Thanks,

Garyrocks

Okay…you’ve seen what I have, here’s some stuff I want.

Figured it might be time after roughly three years to maybe post some pictures and descriptions of some things I’m looking to add to my collection.
Most of what I’m looking for can be best described as what I don’t know about. It’s always more fun and exciting to stumble upon something you’ve never seen or heard of before.
But, there are some items I would love to add to my collection.
If you have any of these items or know where they are, I’m always interested in talking.

The Rolling Stones autographs. The “real deals” are there, you just have to do your homework.

Probably the one question I’m asked constantly by those who know I collect or have seen my collection is, “How do you know it’s real?”
My answer is usually, “I just know.”
As easy as that sounds, it’s not that easy.
But with a little work you will know, and you can protect yourself and your collection.

Start with the simple notion that 95% of autographs sold on eBay and through memorabilia sites are fakes.
Yup, 95%.
Why is that?
Easy.
These alleged reputable dealers are looking for people who don’t know what they’re are looking at.
People that want to believe at that price, it’s too good to be true.
Want to believe that the dealer is reputable.
And to borrow a quote, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Check out this link to find out who really said this.

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html

So how do you know if a set of signatures you’re buying is fake?
If there’s a certificate of authenticity offered, it’s fake.

Any a-hole can print up a impressive looking “certificate”, sign it, offer a lifetime guarantee, and sell pretty much anything.
People think this is their protection.
Sorry, it don’t mean shit.
You need to know your stuff. Buy from the right people. Get knowledgeable.
Read up.
Study.
It’s work.
But like anything else, you want to make good decisions, you do your homework.
I own many signed Stones items.
Frankly it’s easier to buy a legit set of vintage autographs from the Brian Jones era, than a set from today.

Begin at the beginning.
Familiarize yourself with the earliest signatures of the band.
What did they sign like in the 60′s say. Gather images you find online and through eBay and compare them.
Try to think of the circumstances in which they might have signed these items, how much time they had, what they were signing. A card, paper, magazine.
All bands in the 60′s signed in ballpoint pen.
There were no sharpies.
Study how their styles changed throughout the years.
Usually over the years, not unlike us all, our signatures deteriorate and get sloppy.
We get lazy.
No different for rock stars.
Look at Charlie Watts today, barely understandable or readable.
A large C and B.
Stands for “Charlie Boy”, the way he used to originally sign his name back in the 60′s.
A signature reduced to letters.

I found on eBay a year or so ago a signed album.
It was a “Get your Ya Ya’s Out,” signed by all the original Stones, including Brian Jones.
The album as recorded in 1969 and released in September of 1970.
See where I’m going with this?
How could this be signed by Brian Jones if he died in July of 69 and the album was released in 1970?
This is the kind of crap that goes on all the time.

Of course it came with a certificate of authenticity.

Buy from reputable dealers. If you do your homework and ask around you can find them.
I buy from Recordmecca in LA, and Tracks in the UK.
These guys know their shit.
They give a lifetime guarantee and it means something.

Some examples I own are shown here. Bought from the dealers listed above.

Beautiful exmaple from Recordmecca

“Hey GaryRocks, I have one of those, what’s it worth?”

Ever since I began writing this blog I’ve received hundreds of requests from readers to appraise their Stones items.
Usually it’s a message that says…”Hey I have one of those, what’s it worth?”
In the beginning I was very free and open with information.

That information I was so willing to pass along, has taken years of research to acquire.
Hundreds of hours online, searching for photos and information that helps me build a base of knowledge that will help me continue to collect and buy with confidence.
Years of making mistakes, losing money, missing out on items I should have bought but didn’t because I didn’t know any better.
You make a few mistakes, you learn.
I would never consider myself an expert, but have been collecting this “stuff” long enough now to have learned a few things and seen a few things.
I feel comfortable advising or at the very least sending people off to others who are far better appraising certain rare items than I am.

I liked helping people, really…..until after passing along what I’d consider valuable information, I started seeing these items show up on ebay.

Hmmmm?

After I advised, I would on occasion express an interest in buying some of these rarities, and guess what, I never got a response.
That’s where the conversation abruptly ended.

No surprise heh?

I realized most if not all were just interested in picking my brain for free.
Make them smarter, at no cost.
So unfortunately I’ve had to stop.

So for those interested in appraisals, happy to do so for a small fee payable to Paypal, or the chance to buy your item if I’m interested.

Thanks for understanding.
GaryRocks

Bill Wyman apologizes to a fan on why he needs all his hair.

I suppose when you write a letter to any of The Rolling Stones, you might as well ask for something in the event they do answer you.
Why not a lock of their hair?
This fan writing to Bill Wyman did just that.
Bill being the gentleman he is, apologizes for not writing sooner and hopes our fan Ros likes the photo he sent.
He also mentions that he hopes she gets to see them in Newcastle and to look forward to the new release in 2-3 weeks.
He also regrets not being able to send any hair, as he needs all of it at the moment.
Fair enough Bill.
Thanks anyway.

Charlie Watts. Gentleman, Artist, Horse Breeder, Cricket Fanatic, Jazz bandleader and one of the world’s greatest drummers.

Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts (born 2 June, 1941) is an English drummer best known as a member (from January 1963 through the present) of The Rolling Stones. He is a jazz bandleader, record producer, commercial artist and horse breeder. Mick Jagger sometimes refers to Watts as “The Wembley Whammer” when introducing him during concerts.

Charlie Watts was born to a lorry driver for a precursor of British Rail and his wife at University College Hospital, London, and raised (along with his sister Linda) in Islington and then Wembley. He attended Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School from 1952 to 1956; as a schoolboy, he displayed a talent for art, cricket and football.

Watts’s parents gave him his first drum kit in 1955; he was interested in jazz, and would practice drumming along with jazz records he collected. After completing secondary school, he enrolled at Harrow Art School (now the University of Westminster), which he attended until 1960. After leaving school, Watts worked as a graphic designer for an advertising company, and also played drums occasionally with local bands in coffee shops and clubs. In 1961 he met Alexis Korner, who invited him to join his band, Blues Incorporated. At that time Watts was on his way to a sojourn working as a graphic designer in Denmark, but he accepted Korner’s offer when he returned to London in February 1962.

Watts played regularly with Blues Incorporated as well as working at the advertising firm of Charles, Hobson, and Grey. It was in mid-1962 that Watts first met Brian Jones, Ian “Stu” Stewart, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who also frequented the London rhythm and blues clubs; but it wasn’t until January 1963 that Watts finally agreed to join the Rolling Stones.

Watts has been involved in many activities outside his high-profile life as a member of the Rolling Stones.
In 1964, he published a cartoon tribute to Charlie Parker entitled Ode to a High Flying Bird.

Although he has made his name in rock, his personal tastes focus on jazz; in the late 70s, he joined Ian “Stu” Stewart in the back-to-the-roots boogie-woogie band Rocket 88, which featured many of the UK’s top jazz, rock and R&B musicians. In the 1980s, he toured worldwide with a big band that included such names as Evan Parker, Courtney Pine, and Jack Bruce, who was also a member of Rocket 88. In 1991, he organized a jazz quintet as another tribute to Charlie Parker. 1993 saw the release of Warm And Tender, by the Charlie Watts Quintet, which included vocalist Bernard Fowler. This same group then released Long Ago And Far Away in 1996. Both records included a collection of Great American Songbook standards. After a successful collaboration with Jim Keltner on The Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon, Charlie and Jim released a techno/instrumental album called simply Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project. Featuring the names of his favourite jazz drummers, Charlie stated that even though the tracks bore such names as the “Elvin Suite” in honor of the late Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, they were not copying their style of drumming, but rather, capturing a feeling by those artists. Watts At Scott’s was recorded with his group, The Charlie Watts Tentet, at the famous jazz club in London, Ronnie Scott’s. In April 2009 he started to do concerts with “The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie” together with pianists Axel Zwingenberger and Ben Waters plus his childhood friend Dave Green on bass.

Besides his musical creativity, he contributed graphic art to early records such as the Between the Buttons record sleeve and was responsible for the famous 1975 tour announcement press conference in New York City. The band surprised the throng of waiting reporters by driving and playing “Brown Sugar” on the back of a flatbed truck in the middle of Manhattan traffic; a gimmick AC/DC copied later the same year, Status Quo repeated the trick for the 1984 video to “The Wanderer” and U2 would later emulate it in the 2004 video for “All Because of You”. Watts remembered this was a common way for New Orleans jazz bands to promote upcoming dates. Moreover, with Jagger, he designed the elaborate stages for tours, first contributing to the lotus-shaped design of that 1975 Tour of the Americas, as well as the 1989–1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

There are many instances where Jagger and Richards have lauded Watts as the key member of The Rolling Stones. Richards went so far as to say in a 2005 Guitar Player magazine interview that the Rolling Stones would not be, or could not continue as, the Rolling Stones without Watts. An example of Watts’s importance was demonstrated in 1993, after Bill Wyman had left the band. After auditioning several bassists, Jagger and Richards asked Watts to choose the new bass player; he selected the respected session musician Darryl Jones, who had previously been a sideman for both Miles Davis and Sting.

In 1989, the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the July 2006 issue of Modern Drummer, Watts was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame along with Steve Gadd, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich and other highly esteemed drummers.

Charlie Watts plays Gretsch drums and a variety of brands of cymbals, mostly UFIP. His drums are 1956-7 Gretsch Round Badge: a 22″ (56 cm) bass drum, a 16″ (41 cm) floor tom, a 12″ (30 cm) tom and a 5-by-14-inch (13 cm × 36 cm) snare drum. Cymbals he is known to use include: an 18″ UFIP Natural Series Fast China, a UFIP Rough Series China with rivets, a very old UFIP Flat Ride, an Avedis Zildjian Swish, and a very old set of hi-hats, brand unknown.

The greatest Rolling Stones album ever, about to get released again. Exile on Main Street.

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

Universal Music Group recently announced that the Rolling Stones’ masterpiece album Exile on Main Street is being re-released on May 18, with 10 never-before-heard tracks.

The classic album is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Greatest Albums of All Time” list. Though he thought all the material had already been used for the album, Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger was asked by Universal to find some bonus songs.

Lucky for us, he was able to get his hands on 10 new tracks for our listening pleasure. Lead guitarist Keith Richards and Jagger also revamped some of the old tracks.

“I added some percussion and some vocals. Keith put guitar on one or two,” Jagger told Rolling Stone.

Richards and Jagger were cautious not to change too much about the album

“I didn’t want to interfere with the Bible,” said Richards. “They still had that great basement sound.”

The 18-track double-album was originally recorded in a few different locations, in a non-consecutive manner. Locations included Olympic Studios in London, Richards’ mansion in France, and Los Angeles, where the real Main Street inspired the album’s title. It was originally released in 1972.

“Every song on Exile on Main Street is elevated by its relationship to the music that comes before and after it. The album’s irresistible power is unlikely to diminish any time soon,” said author Anthony DeCurtis, who is now a contributing editor for Rolling Stone. Clearly, he knew what he was talking about, as Exile’s musical draw has not languished the slightest bit with time.

Along with the album, The Rolling Stones will be releasing a newly filmed documentary titled “Stones in Exile,” which was made especially for this occasion. Directed by Stephen Kijak, the documentary follows the making of Exile, and includes exclusive footage of past concerts and studio sessions.

“I must not have noticed all the cameramen while I was making the record,” Richards told Rolling Stone. “I was amazed at how much footage they actually found.”

The documentary will be sold as part of a package, which will include a vinyl record, the deluxe CD edition with the 10 bonus tracks and a 50-page collector’s book with old photos from the Exile on Main Street days.

Super rare promo poster featuring 3-Ball Charlie.

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.

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile_on_Main_St.

When Keith Richards uses your office as a closet, what do you do?

Keith's Black leopard lined leather jacket, worn in the late 70's.

Art Collins Vice President of Rolling Stones Records from 1981-1986,
experienced a thing or two in his time with the band, as this post and story will attest to.
Like his office being used by Keith Richards to store various items of clothing.
Specifically the black leather jacket you see pictured.
When I bought this item, I was as fascinated by the story,
as I was being able to buy such an iconic item belonging to the legend himself.

What really defines a rock star?
Many things I imagine.
Obviously their music first and foremost.
But then, a close second has to be their style.
And what describes “The Human Riff,” better than one of his many leather jackets.
In building my collection I’ve always had an eye to collecting items that truly capture the spirit and the essence of the individual.
In the case of Keith Richards, he has for me defined what Rock and Roll is.
In his music, and his lifestyle.
The true definition of Rock and Roll excess.

Here’s the letter from Art describing the circumstances in which he came upon Keith’s jacket as well as an article in a trade magazine describing the clothes Art speaks of piled up in his office on his couch.

Enjoy.

Giving Mick Jagger the gift of time. Not that he needs it.

I guess when it comes to giving Mick Jagger a present, you got to think the guy has just about everything.
I mean what could you possibly give him he either couldn’t buy himself or doesn’t already own?
Clothes. Nah.
Wine. Boring.
Hmmmmmm, how ’bout a nice watch?

Well that’s exactly what Ahmet Ertegun gave Mick Jagger back
sometime in the early 70′s.
An Eterna Matic Concept 80 wristwatch.
He had engraved on the back, Mick Here’s to a Million or 2? Ahmet.
My guess he was talking about the sales of an upcoming album.
Maybe Sticky Fingers or Exile given the time period.
Since at this point The Stones had just recently come on board with Atlantic, it’s not unusual Ahmet was hoping for a long and successful relationship with them.

Ahmet co-founder and executive of Atlantic Records used his personal skills in negotiating the signing of The Rolling Stones to Atlantic when they were shopping for a record company to distribute their independent Rolling Stones Records label.

He personally “did the deal” with Mick Jagger, when other labels had actually offered the band more money.

This watch was later donated by Jagger to an auction run by LA radio station KMET-FM back in 1973 in a week long auction they ran to raise money for the victims of the Nicaraguan Earthquake.
Mick was of course married to Bianca at the time, and her having family there got Mick very involved in this worthy cause.

The Stones gave a benefit concert in LA and donated at the proceeds to help the victims.

A unique piece of memorabilia owned by Jagger with a great history behind it .

A RARE TICEKT STUB FROM THE STONES NICARAGUAN BENEFIT SHOW IN LA.

Who’s the Boss????

You really don’t want to piss of your partner.
Especially when he’s Keith Richards.
But Mick needed to test himself in 1985 by going solo for the first time in his career
with She’s the Boss.

When The Rolling Stones signed with CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger – ready to spread his wings after recording exclusively with his famous band for twenty years – eagerly began working on She’s the Boss.

Following the release of Undercover, Jagger began composing material for his first solo project, sanctioning the help of various musician friends in the studio when recording began in May 1984. Of those involved were Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Carlos Alomar and Herbie Hancock, while Jagger would share production duties with Bill Laswell and Nile Rodgers.

Keenly aware of the current musical trends – and taking advantage of his freedom – Jagger endeavored to make She’s the Boss sound hip and contemporary, giving the album a very mid-1980s character with its use of synthesizers and drum machines.

Keith Richards, Jagger’s longtime musical partner in The Rolling Stones, was not pleased that Jagger was pursuing solo work, feeling that their band should be each others’ first priority. The growing friction between both musicians would erupt – in a most publicized way – in 1986, before they resolved their differences a couple of years later.

She’s the Boss was released in February 1985 – preceded by its lead song “Just Another Night”. Both the album and its first single became worldwide hits, with “Just Another Night” reaching #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and #12 on the US pop chart, and She’s the Boss going to #6 in the UK and #13 in the US, where it went platinum. Follow-up single “Lucky In Love” would be a Top 40 US hit. Although critical response to the album was warm, many later reviewers consider She’s the Boss – with its distinct 1980s production techniques – to sound somewhat dated in style.[citation needed]

The success of the album – impacted by Jagger’s solo appearance at Live Aid that July and his rush-recorded duet hit cover of “Dancing In The Street” with David Bowie – influenced Jagger to record a successor, Primitive Cool, which would be released in 1987.

Although originally released by CBS, She’s the Boss was acquired and reissued by Atlantic Records in 1993 following the release of Jagger’s third album, Wandering Spirit.

In 1986, Jamaican reggae singer Patrick Alley attempted to sue Jagger over the song “Just Another Night,” which Alley claims he had recorded in 1979 and released on his 1982 album, A Touch of Patrick Alley. Alley claimed that Sly Dunbar (who played drums on She’s the Boss) also played on his recording. The case was cleared in 1988, with Jagger stating “My reputation is really cleared. If you’re well known, people stand up and take shots at you.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27s_The_Boss

The following are direct from the files of a former publicist and personal assistant to Mick Jagger.
Typed and xeroxed lyrics with hand written annotations by Jagger.