How Joining the Rolling Stones Changed Ron Wood

Ron Wood constructed a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame career with the Faces, yet seemed almost destined to become part of the Rolling Stones timeline, too.

He often described seeing the Rolling Stones in 1964 at Surrey’s fourth annual National Jazz and Blues Festival as a life-changing experience. “I thought, ‘That looks like a good job,” Wood later told the BBC. “One day, I’m going to be in that band.”

It almost happened in 1969, when Wood said the Rolling Stones initially approached him about possibly joining in the wake of Brian Jones’s departure. Wood said Stones piano player Ian Stewart called with the offer, reaching Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. Lane told him, “Ronnie’s quite happy where he is, thanks,’ and put the phone down,” Wood told the Los Angeles Times. “I think everything is fate. If I had joined the Stones at that time, I’d probably be a total junkie.”

Besides, he was still in the Faces – and “that’s what’s really important to me,” Wood said in Mark Paytress’s Rolling Stones: Off the Record.

Wood reconnected when he co-wrote “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” with Mick Jagger in December 1973, then was joined by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jones’ eventual successor Mick Taylor for Wood’s first solo LP, 1974’s I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Richards made some promotional appearances with Wood for the album, as well.

By then, Taylor was exiting the lineup. Wood took part in March 1975 sessions for Black and Blue while the Rolling Stones considered a series of replacements. Among them were Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck (for whom Wood had played bass on two albums, 1969’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola), Shuggie Otis, Rory Gallagher and Harvey Mandel, among others.

Listen to the Rolling Stones’ ‘Shattered’

When Did Ron Wood Join the Rolling Stones?

Wood was officially announced as Taylor’s replacement on April 14, 1975, then played his first tour with the Rolling Stones across North America before the Faces confirmed their breakup in December 1975. Stepping into Taylor’s shoes felt like destiny, but at the same time, Wood understood the assignment.

“I knew those solos in my head. I could reproduce them, with tremendous respect for Mick,” Wood told Rolling Stone. “Technically, I’m not as good a guitarist as Mick [Taylor] but the only way I can really f— up is by being too loud. That is a sore point with Keith and Mick. I’d get my guitar wrapped ’round my head by Keith.”

Unlike the others, Wood worked as a salaried employee – and that arrangement continued until the early ’90s, after Wood helped broker a shaky peace between Jagger and Richards. “I just looked at it like I was doing my apprenticeship, even though I might have been 50 years old,” Wood told The Guardian. “I was learning, but I was teaching as well: How to let go and enjoy life.”

That’s how Wood eventually came to inhabit a much different space than he had in the Faces. He was a forceful and distinctive contributor on guitar with his former group while memorably co-writing “Stay With Me” and “Ooh La La.” (He also co-wrote two of Faces bandmate Rod Stewart‘s best solo songs, “Every Picture Tells a Story” and “Gasoline Alley,” among others.) That was then.

Listen to the Rolling Stones’ ‘Undercover of the Night’

Could the Rolling Stones Have Survived With Him?

Wood did less writing in the Rolling Stones, with notable exceptions including “Dance,” “Black Limousine” and “One Hit (to the Body).” He was more nastier than Taylor, and faster than Richards. But Wood rarely stepped forward outside of rare solo turns for songs like “Undercover of the Night,” “Shattered,” “Hey Negrita,” “Neighbours,” “Terrifying” and “Saint of Me.” Instead, he often occupied a new role as a fearlessly instinctive rhythm player in and around Richards’ more prominent lines.

More importantly, he served as a fire extinguisher for the combustible Jagger and Richards. “During the Dirty Work days [in the late-’80s], that was a really bad time. I got them through that,” Wood told The Guardian. “I’d be like, ‘You stay near the phone. I’m going to get him on the phone and I’ll ring you back.'”

As with performances where he weaved his way through Richards’ parts, “I knew when to step in – and I instinctively know when to get out of their way,” Wood told Rolling Stone. “But it’s all about keeping that institution – the Rolling Stones – going: ‘Whether you like it or not, you guys are going to have to patch it up, or forget everything.'”