Remember When: The Rolling Stones Chose Ronnie Wood

Ronnie Wood has been a part of The Rolling Stones long enough now that he seems a part of the band’s unshakable foundation. But he had an outstanding career before joining the band, and it was by no means a foregone conclusion he’d find his way into the group, which he officially did in 1976.

When Wood joined the band, it was a case of a right man at the right time, someone whose steady presence has helped the Stones overcome periods of intense turmoil. Here’s how it all went down.

Guitarist Wanted

For the bulk of their existence, The Rolling Stones have been a quintet, with the steadiest members being Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Wyman departed the group in 1993, while Watts passed away in 2021. (Neither was officially replaced, although Daryl Jones and Steve Jordan have taken their spots on record and tour.)

The fifth spot, which is the second guitarist in conjunction with Richards, has always been the one most in flux. Brian Jones founded the group and proved integral in the mid-’60s with his multi-instrumentalist capabilities, but he struggled with drug and personal problems. He was fired by the band a few weeks before his death in 1969.

Jones was replaced by Mick Taylor, a young guitar wizard whose ability to play thrilling solos to complement Richards’ amazing riffs played a big part in Stones’ classics like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.. But Taylor left the band following the It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll album in 1974. He was allegedly frustrated about some songwriting credits that didn’t go his way, but later admitted he was concerned he couldn’t quite keep up with the band’s raucous lifestyle.

Open Auditions

The Stones came up with a unique way to choose a new guitarist. They essentially used their next album (Black and Blue) to audition potential members. Three men stepped up: Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, and Ronnie Wood. Wood was the only Brit of the three, with Mandel and Perkins both being Americans.

Wood had crossed paths many times before with the Stones. There’s a story that’s been floated in some histories (although it’s difficult to confirm) that Wood was the band’s first choice to replace Brian Jones. When Mick Jagger called the headquarters of Faces, Wood’s band at the time, asking for “Ronnie,” someone misunderstood and handed the phone to Ronnie Lane, the Faces’ bassist. Not wanting to lose a talent like Wood, Lane essentially told Jagger there would be no poaching of band members on his watch.

Wood also received the credit “inspiration by Ronnie Wood” on the Stones’ hit single “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It),” as he helped Jagger come up with the musical idea for the song. But it wasn’t definite he’d get the gig when Taylor left, even with those experiences and the outstanding recorded legacy he’d already delivered as a member of The Jeff Beck Group and Faces.

Ronnie Gets the Job

Wood, Mandel, and Perkins all acquitted themselves quite well on Black and Blue, an underrated album in the band’s catalog. Keith Richards has often mentioned in interviews that Wood’s personality had a great deal with him getting the nod. As it turned out, his affability and ability to get along with the various personalities in the band has indeed stabilized the Stones’ volatile chemistry at times.

In late 1975, Wood began touring with the Stones, which signaled the direction they were going. On April 23, 1976, Wood was announced as an official member of the group. The timing was perfect, since that was also the day Black and Blue was released, and Wood is on the album’s back cover.

Wood graduated from member to official band partner in 1990. It’s now hard to imagine the band without him, which is a testament to both his greatness as a player and his ability to roll with the punches in The Rolling Stones.

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