Ron Wood
Ronald David Wood (born
June 1,
1947 in
Hillingdon,
London) is an
English rock guitarist and
bassist best known as a member of
The Rolling Stones,
The Faces, and
The Jeff Beck Group.
1960s
Wood began his career in
1964 with
the Birds, based in
Yiewsley,
Middlesex. By the late
1960s, he was part of
The Creation, then joined the
Jeff Beck Group together with singer
Rod Stewart. They split up, however, after recording
Beck-Ola in
1969.
1970s
With Rod Stewart, Ron joined
The Small Faces shortly after leader
Steve Marriott had left the group. The band's name soon was shortened to simply
The Faces. Though mostly known in the United States as Rod Stewart's former backup band, the Faces were very successful in the
UK, for a brief time even rivaling
The Rolling Stones in popularity. They were a popular live act, and their music is recognized today as sharing an ethos with the future
punk rock movement. The
New York Dolls,
The Replacements,
The Black Crowes,
Pearl Jam, and
Stereophonics all bear the group's influence. The Faces split up in
1975.
During the
1970s, Wood released several solo albums, including a collaboration with ex-Faces bandmate
Ronnie Lane,
Mahoney's Last Stand (
1976).
Following
Mick Taylor's departure from the Rolling Stones in
1974, Wood performed with the group on its 1975 tour, then contributed to its 1976 album
Black and Blue, before being ultimately announced as Taylor's replacement. Wood would become a major contributor to the band during the next 3 decades.
In the Rolling Stones, Wood specializes in playing
slide guitar and
pedal steel guitar, and contributes to one-half of the "
ancient form of weaving". He also occasionally plays
bass guitar, such as during 1975 concert performances of "Fingerprint File," when
Mick Jagger played rhythm guitar and bassist
Bill Wyman moved to
synthesizer. Rolling Stones singles such "Emotional Rescue" also feature Wood on bass. He has been given credit as a cowriter for a handful of songs, such as "Black Limousine" and "Pretty Beat Up."
1980s
Throughout the
1980s, Wood played as a member of the Rolling Stones, continued his solo career and painted, and collaborated with a number of other artists, including
Bob Dylan,
David Bowie,
Eric Clapton,
Bo Diddley and
Aretha Franklin.
In 1988 Ron opened "Woody's on the Beach," a one of a kind venue featuring a house band headed up by Bobby Keys, hosting a continuous stream of artist friends of Woody's, and providing a venue for local acts to perform original music with no pressure to play "cover" tunes. The stage was up close and personal with the entertainers literally feet away from the crowd. Ron played whenever he was in town, with friends, or the local band of the week. The defunct Hotel which housed the Club allowed for Woody to set up a world class backstage VIP area upstairs, displaying Woody's artworks, and providing a private party area for the Musicians and their guests, local nightclub VIPs, politicians ect.
|
Ron Wood leaving the Amstel Hotel, 31 july 2006, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Photo: Sander Lamme. |
Although Woody's pioneered the club scene transitioning the neighborhood of South Beach (the
Mariel boatlift had flooded the streets with all of Castro's misfits), and was highly successful, it was closed by Woody amidst a flury of complaints from the then predominantly geriatric neighbors who found it too loud, despite the wave of security (11 "locomotive shaped bouncers") and prosperity (expanded development of the areas tourism) it fostered.
At the
Live Aid Concert in
Philadelphia, Wood along with Keith Richards performed in the penultimate set with
Bob Dylan. During the performance of "Blowing in the Wind", Dylan broke a guitar string. Wood gave Dylan his guitar in order to keep the performance seamless, and even played
air guitar until a stagehand brought him a replacement.
Other Projects
Ronnie has contributed his work and support to other groups, most notably, Irish rock group
The Corrs, on their live VH1 album.
Recently
While also continuing as a member of the Rolling Stones, in 1993, Wood appeared with Rod Stewart on
MTV's Unplugged, which resulted in a hit album. After the tour that Rod Stewart undertook across the U.S. in 2004 they expressed intentions to finish the studio work on their forthcoming album entitled
I'll Strut, You'll Sing.
He continues to struggle with
alcoholism, although reports between 2003 and 2006 had indicated that he had been clean since the
Licks tour of
2002 and
2003. In June 2006 it was reported that Wood was entering rehab for a couple of weeks following increased recent alcohol abuse. [
1]
Ron Wood currently lives in the town of
Clane,
Ireland.
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Ron Wood*
Ronnie Wood Artist biography
