From Pebbles to Stones

In the winter of 1962, the boys were getting things together, but they were broke. Mick was still in school, just in case his dreams of becoming a popular musician didn't work out.

Brian was working in a record store and trying to support a child. Keith wasn't working at all and was staying with Brian. They had picked up a mediocre drummer named Tony Chapman, and Dick Taylor was playing the bass for them, but they needed people that could match their talent.

Alexis Korner's band was offered a steady job playing on the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). They had been playing at the Marquee Jazz Club in London on Thursdays and would have to give up this gig, so Alexis offered Brian's band his slot. Now that the band actually had a paying gig, they needed a name. Brian Jones once again looked to the blues for inspiration. He thought of the Muddy Waters song “Mannish Boy.” In the song, there is a line that talks about a “Rollin’ Stone.” When Disc ran the first article ever mentioning the band on July 7, 1962, however, they were referred to as Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. From then on, they were the Rolling Stones, and nothing was going to stop them from rolling now that they were on their way.