Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman (born William George Perks on
24 October,
1936) was the
bassist for the
English rock and roll band
The Rolling Stones from its founding in
1962 until
1991.
Music Career
Bill Wyman (real name Bill Perks) spent most of his early life in
Penge, then in
Kent,
England. He attended
Grammar School from
1947 to
Easter 1953. Wyman took piano lessons from ages 10 to 13. After his marriage, he bought a guitar, but wasn't satisfied by his own progress. After hearing a bass guitar at a
Barron Knights' concert, he fell in love with the sound of it and decided that this was his instrument. He created the first fretless electric bass, by removing the frets from a bass guitar he was reworking, and played this in a local south London band, The Cliftons. He began calling himself Bill Wyman using the surname of a friend with whom he had done
National Service in the
Royal Air Force.
When drummer Tony Chapman told him of a fledgling rhythm and blues band called The Rolling Stones who needed a bass player, he applied for the job and was officially hired in December 1962, as a successor of co-founder, Dick Taylor. Although The Stones were impressed by his instrument and amplifier, they weren't too fond of Wyman's style and personality (probably influenced by the 6 year-age gap). Although he developed into a strong bass player and a key-element in the group's sound, Wyman always remained something of an outsider in the Stones during the following decades.Wyman's work as a Rolling Stone after the first year or so of being in the band, both in the studio and during concerts, rarely involved vocals. One notable exception was the song "In Another Land," released both on the
Their Satanic Majesties Request album and, oddly enough, also as a solo Bill Wyman single. A second Wyman penned song, "Downtown Suzie", was released on a collection of Rolling Stones outtakes, with the title of the song altered by Rolling Stones manager
Allen Klein without informing either Wyman or the band.
In the 70's and early 80's he released three solo albums, none of which was particularly successful. The last one, 1982's eponymous new-wave rock offering, gave him a European hit single, '(Si,Si)Je suis un Rock Star', a parody on his French rock star exile status.
He also produced/managed some groups like rockers Tucky Buzzard.
Wyman kept a detailed daily journal of his days with the Rolling Stones. He used this journal extensively in writing his history of the Rolling Stones, "Rolling with The Stones", and also his "Stone Alone" autobiography.
Evidently Wyman maintained a friendly relationship with guitarist
Mick Taylor, the first member of the Rolling Stones to voluntarily leave the band. He continued to work with Taylor on solo projects from time to time after Taylor left the band.
Wyman says he created the essential riff to
Jumpin' Jack Flash, although
Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards dispute the claim and are credited with writing the song (Keith Richards even played the bass on it, much to Wyman's chagrin).
In the 1980's, a distance between the other band members and Wyman grew due, amongst other things, to the Mandy Smith affair (see below). After having contributed to the album Steel Wheels (1989), he decided he'd had enough of it, but took some time to finalise his decision. The Stones regretted his leaving but didn't seem too weakened by it. Instead of choosing a permanent replacement, they recruited several bass players to support them during recordings and concerts, the first of whom, Darryl Jones, made the strongest impression.
Wyman continues to tour with his backing band, "The Rhythm Kings", which has featured such musicians as
Martin Taylor,
Albert Lee and Georgie Fame.
Musical Instruments
Wyman is an adept musician, teaching himself to play several instruments including autoharp, guitar, vibraphone, glockenspiel, piano, organ, synthesizer, percussion and cello. He has also contributed backing vocals. His innovative bass sound came not only from his home-made fretless bass, but from the "walking bass" style he adopted (largely inspired by the odd couple of Willie Dixon and Ricky Fenson) and his tight work with Charlie Watts. Their sound not only anchored the group, but exemplified the "heartbeat and pulse" idea behind ideal rhythm sections.
Personal Life
At age 47, Bill Wyman began a relationship with 13-year old
Mandy Smith, with her mother's blessing. Six years later, they were married, but the marriage only lasted a year. Not long after, Bill's 30-year-old son Stephen married Mandy's mother, age 46. That made Stephen a stepfather to his former stepmother. If Bill and Mandy had remained married, Stephen would have been his father's father-in-law and his own grandpa. Wyman is an also an amateur
archaeologist and has a hobby of
metal detecting.
He was also very close to the late Rolling Stones founder/guitarist
Brian Jones. One can easily note how Jones' death affected him; in early videos and recordings he seems more enthusiastic and animated, compared with the "Stone Face" he would adopt later. In books and other reflections made in the Stones' later eras and his "post-Stones" life, he is the only (vocal) band member who holds Jones in any kind of esteem.
Bill Wyman has authored or co-authored the following titles
Archaeology
Bill Wyman's Treasure Islands ISBN 0750939672
Rolling Stones
Stone Alone ISBN 0306807831
Rolling with the Stones ISBN 0751346462.
*"Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey" ISBN 0751334421
*"The Stones - A History in Cartoons" ISBN 0750942487
The latter three books and Bill Wyman's Treasure Islands all written in collaboration with Richard Havers
*
Bill Wyman's website*
The Rolling Stones website*
Solo discography*
IMDB entry for Bill Wyman*
Rolling Stones BILL WYMAN*
Bill Wyman Interview
