Bill Wyman’s personal Rolling Stones American Tour jersey from 1972. These were given to the entire STP crew before the tour finale on July 26, 1972 at Madison Square Garden.
This is the shirt that began my nearly decade long pursuit of any and all information surrounding the STP tour. I had no idea these existed until seeing one back in 2013. My interest in the tour began with the goal of finding one of these shirts and has since evolved into gathering as much information as possible about the tour.
I’ve spent countless hours on the phone chatting with people who were there and traveled near and far to meet people who were a part of the Stones Touring Party. In March of 2020 I had planned a road trip to interview half a dozen people who were on that tour for a project that would coincide with the 50th anniversary. That was derailed by the virus.
Wyman can be seen wearing this exact jersey in the group photo taken backstage by Annie Leibovitz. It’s also featured in Wyman’s book “Rolling with the Stones.” I feel honored to be the caretaker of this now half century old relic. For it to have belonged to a founding member of the band makes it even more special.
Pictured are Jagger and his makeup artist wearing their jerseys in the Cocksucker Blues film. My pal David can be seen wearing his next to Chip Monck. Press agent Gary Stromberg has his all covered in cake after the birthday celebration on stage. Mick Taylor wore his during an interview in late ’72. The final picture is myself with David, who ran the lighting console and is pictured earlier, and Patrick who drove the band’s equipment.
The band played 48 shows over nearly 8 weeks.
Today Mick turned 79. He and Keith are the only remaining Rolling Stones from the ’72 tour…and they’re still touring. Every other member of the Stones Touring Party has retired, moved on to other things, or has unfortunately passed on.
Fifty years ago they were all just a bunch of twenty somethings making their way across North America and putting on the best damn rock n’ roll show possible. Luckily for us the stories, artifacts, and most importantly the music will live on for generations to come.
#rollingstones
This appliqué rhinestone tank is one of my favorite pieces of clothing. It’s small and tailored to fit a British musician who’s band is touring the US in 1972. The rhinestones sparkle in the stage lights. I used a long exposure and light painting to create this image.
The lead singer, Mick Jagger wears one in Denver. Virtuoso lead guitarist Mick Taylor sports one in several cities throughout the tour. Charlie Watts wears one for a few gigs and then wears it much more the following fall in Europe.
Bass player Bill Wyman gets a sweater instead of a tank. And Keith, being Keith, got a sweater with the same appliqué, but his has a giant dick coming out of the mouth. A scene captured by the legendary photographer Jim Marshall on the Stones private plane in LA.
An iconic symbol of the new Stones logo, this tank captures the essence of the era. After endless hours of looking at old photos and reading articles from back then, I’ve concluded that the Stones picked these tanks and sweaters up during their shows in Los Angeles. As to who made them, that’s still a mystery to me.
A few Nudie collectors I know have said it’s not his work. An article suggests Manuel Cuevas may have made them. There’s also Western Costume Company where the Stones were known to have stopped on the tour.
This came from a guitar dealer who obtained it backstage in ’72. He spent time showing guitars and chatting with the band, Jagger in particular, in between the Stones shows in Denver. A black sweater from a very close Stones associate was unearthed about a year ago.
The pictures show various versions of the appliqué. Kate Moss is modeling Charlie’s, which was featured prominently in the Stones Exhibitionism that toured the globe. The brown Wyman sweater sold a few years back. Mick Taylor’s has never surfaced.
50 years ago today the penultimate show of the Stones ’72 tour took place at Madison Square Gardens. Tomorrow, Mick’s birthday, will be the finale of this iconic tour.
#rollingstones #vintagetshirt #vintagetee #rollingstonestshirt #vintagerollingstones #vintagefashion #mickjagger #keithrichards #1972 #charliewatts #micktaylor #billwyman #1970s #70sfashion #vintagestyle #stp
Fifty years ago today, on June 3, 1972, the Rolling Stones embarked on a North American Tour that would become the stuff of legend. This tour would change the way bands toured moving forward. It was their first time back in the States since Altamont. Along the way they would crash at the Playboy Mansion and hang with the likes of Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, and Princess Lee Radziwill. There have numerous books, movies (both official and unofficial), live albums, and countless articles about the impact this tour had.
Here’s a selection of original memorabilia from that tour that I’ve acquired over past decade or so. I’ve spent hours on the phone with crew members and scoured through old photos and newspaper clippings searching for information. I’ve even met up with a few folks who were actually on the tour.
Over the next several weeks I’m planning to share the individual items with a bit more context and history.
#rollingstones #vintagetshirt #vintagetee #rollingstonestshirt #vintagerollingstones #vintagefashion #mickjagger #keithrichards #1972 #charliewatts #micktaylor #billwyman #1970s #70sfashion #vintagestyle #stp #stonestouringparty
How does a 70s Rolling Stones Goat's Head Soup shirt with Andy Warhol-inspired graphics written in French end up in Germany? I have a decent idea. But after hours and hours of searching, I still can't say for certain.
This one came across my radar during the last year. The original owner is no longer with us. But his stepson, who I bought the shirt from, said it was originally purchased in the 70s. The original owner had seen the Stones in '73 and in '82.
The '82 shirt was a known shirt sold throughout their European tour that year, that one made sense. But this one was a real oddity. The merchandising shirts sold at Stones shows in '73 were quite hideous. Heat transfer graphics on ill-fitted Euro cut shirts. There was no such thing as a Goat's Head t-shirt sold at those shows.
My original thought was that this was likely an unofficial shirt sold during the German dates of the '73 tour. However, upon receiving the shirt I was able to get a better look at the small logo to the bottom right of the soup can graphics. It says "Crazy David" and turns out that figure was David Keller. Keller was an Alabama-born draft dodger who ended up as a t-shirt shop owner in Toronto who sold a lot of music-related shirts via mail order.
But why would this shirt be written in French? Could it have been for the French Canadian market? Or was it sold in a French music magazine? The Stones didn't do a French concert in '73 because a certain rhythm guitarist was prohibited from entering the country. They did play Brussels and chartered a train to bring in their French fans. Maybe Keller took a boatload over there to sell at the show?
I might not ever know exactly how this shirt came to be or where it was sold, but it is for certain of the era and incredibly cool.
Here’s a rare piece of tour ephemera from the Rolling Stones’ 1975 Tour of the Americas.
This terrycloth kimono robe was gifted to band and touring crew members during the ’75 tour. According to a crew member who received his toward the end of the run, Mick Jagger personally handed these out during a lunch break, thanking each crew member as he went. A few others were with him carrying armloads of the robes.
Not merchandise, and not something made for fans, these were tour-issued gifts for the people working the shows night after night.
Surviving examples are uncommon, especially with a firsthand recollection attached.
The final picture shows an example of the robe with the Watts family in 1976.
#rollingstones1975
#tourofamericas
#rollingstones
#tourissued
#tota
For their 1975 Tour of the Americas, the Rolling Stones aimed for a new distinctive look. The famous tongue logo was momentarily set aside in favor of something new. An eagle fused with a jet.
Sketched by Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts on hotel stationery, the concept was developed into a striking tour logo. According to an internal memo that was on display during the band’s Exhibitionism traveling museum, they wanted the design to be based on Tantra art. “A series of lines, each in a different color.”
The memo written by Mick described the new graphics as “a separate idea for a tour logo – not a poster, but for use as badges, backstage passes, stickers etc.”
Graphic artist Christian Piper (who worked for Milton Glaser) designed the final logo that was indeed used for everything from tour laminates, to posters, backstage passes, pins, patches, stickers, and of course, t-shirts. The official tour plane was also emboldened with this logo.
It’s funny, now that I actually reflect on it, there aren’t any tongues to be seen on official ‘75 tour items. Or at least that I can recall anything off the top of my head. If you think of anything showing a tongue, outside of bootleg tees, please let me know.
Fifty years ago today, the Stones played Memphis on the Fourth of July 1975.
It was hot, loud, and packed at Memorial Stadium, where the show opened with a set from blues legend Furry Lewis. Lewis was playing his slide guitar on top of two whiskey cases on the tarmac when the band’s jet arrived in Memphis.
This is one of my favorite stories from the ‘75 tour. At 83 years old, Lewis stepped out in a white suit and played slide guitar for a crowd of 50,000. Just a few years earlier, he’d been sweeping streets for the city of Memphis. The stories of Lewis were wonderfully told by the late great Stanley Booth, the southern author who befriended the Stones and wrote the seminal book on their ‘69 tour.
On the bill with Lewis were the Charlie Daniels Band and J. Geils Band. Six hours after the show began, the Stones appeared just at sunset and played a great set.
One funny fact about this show is that Mick wanted to ride out on stage on an elephant. The promoter apparently hired a few elephants, but the idea was scratched before the band went on.
There were two shirts from this show. The first one is an official crew t-shirt featuring the TOTA logo on top of a confederate flag.
The other shirt was likely sold in the parking lot and features the opening acts. These have been faked in recent years, originals have iron-on or heat transfer graphics. If you see a screen printed version of this shirt, it’s fake.
In the black and white shots here, you’ll see tour photographers Annie Leibovitz and Christopher Simon Sykes wearing the crew shirts.
After the show, Keith Richards decided he’d rather drive to Texas than fly with the band. That decision nearly derailed the tour…
The Stones hit the road in 1975 with a new guitarist, a giant inflatable phallus, and for the first time a different company handling their sound, the Clair Brothers.
Clair had just rolled out their revolutionary S4 speaker cabinets. As the story goes, Mick Jagger was blown away by the sound at a Faces show in ’74 and Clair was subsequently hired for the Tour of the Americas.
The front print features the iconic ‘75 tour logo carrying one of the innovative S4 cabinets. Two color variants known to exist, navy and yellow. On the back, the Clair Brothers logo encircled by “touring the americas.” A badge of audio credentials worn by the crew who carried the show’s sound across the continent.
The Clair Brothers S4 wasn’t just a speaker, it changed touring audio. Before it, live sound meant piles of mismatched gear and messy setups. The S4 packed full range sound into a 425 pound cabinet that flew from the rafters, fit neatly in trucks, and came as part of a complete system that included rigging, amps, and cabling all designed to work together. It made load-ins faster, sound more consistent, and gave touring bands a reliable setup every night.
Nearly 40 years later, Clair paid tribute to their original tour with the Stones by reusing this graphic on a 2014 crew shirt. Longtime Stones roadie Chuch Magee can be seen wearing one in the photo here.
An original staff shirt from the Rolling Stones’ third stop (fourth show) of their ambitious 1975 Tour of the Americas. This green Arrowhead Stadium tee wasn’t sold to fans. It was worn by the local crew and staff who worked the show.
Opening for the Stones at the then new Arrowhead Stadium were the Eagles.
Since I live nearby, it’s extra special to have a local crew tee. It’s only the second example I’ve ever seen of this shirt. Stones collector Matt Lee ( @officialmattlee ) has the other.
I actually sourced this shirt locally a few months ago; it was a blast to sift through a trove of old rock shirts, passes, and random ephemera. Many thanks to @klimatime at Wyco for the assist on this one.
Fifty years ago today the Rolling Stones embarked on their largest tour to date. Dubbed the Tour of the Americas (TOTA), this tour was larger than their previous jaunt across North America. Bigger plane, bigger crowds, bigger promotion, and a much larger touring crew.
They would keep on a few members of the STP crew for the TOTA, but most of the touring crew changed as they changed sound and lighting companies.
Because of the pure scale of this tour, original memorabilia does come up and isn’t quite as rare as stuff from earlier tours. However, in recent years stuff has gotten harder to find. Over the next few months I’ll be sharing the stories behind some of the odds and ends that I’ve collected from this tour.
Grateful Dead • Sept. 3, 1972
Shirts like this are my favorites. They check every box: early ‘70s, beautiful graphics, staff only, and exceedingly rare. It’s also always a plus to have pictures of them being worn back in the day.
These one-off event shirts are a snapshot in time. They were there. At the show. Long before concert t-shirts were mass produced to be sold to ticket holders, these shirts had a purpose. They were worn only by the event staff who worked the show. It was an easy way to identify who was supposed to be where.
The graphics depict a butterfly woman with paisley wings. It’s a bit easier to make out on the concert poster, which I’ve included a picture of here. Pretty funny that the show started at noon on a Sunday. I guess they had to make sure everything wrapped up before the sun went down?
In the subsequent pictures you can see staffers wearing them on the day of the show at Folsom Field. Dead tour manager Sam Cutler even picked up one at the show.
Like almost every Dead show, you can head over to Youtube and listen to all 4+ hours of the show. From what I’ve heard, it’s pretty good!
#vintagetshirt #VintageGratefulDead #DeadHead #GDVintage #ClassicRockTees #DeadAndCompany #JerryGarcia #VintageBand #RareDeadTee #DeadMemories #70sBandTee
