The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' Tour of the Americas '75 was a 1975

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South America never solidified, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.

History

After the departure of

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

, this was the Rolling Stones' first tour with new guitarist

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

. Announced on 14 April as merely playing with the band on the tour, it would not be until 19 December that he would be officially named a Rolling Stone. Longtime sidemen

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Nilsson, Delaney ...

and Jim Price on brass were not featured on this tour, while

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

had replaced

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

on keyboards in 1973. Additionally,

Ollie E. Brown Ollie E. Brown (born April 20, 1953) is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also ...

was added as an additional percussionist. Keys made a guest appearance on "

You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...

" and "

Brown Sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

" at the Los Angeles shows. The Tour of the Americas '75 was not tied to support of any newly released material, as it began more than seven months after the release of their last studio album at the time, '' It's Only Rock'n Roll''. Instead, the compilation album ''

Made in the Shade ''Made in the Shade'', released in 1975, is the fourth official compilation album by the Rolling Stones, and the first under their Atlantic Records contract. It covers material from ''Sticky Fingers'' (1971), '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), ''Go ...

'' was released to capitalise on the tour's publicity. The announcement of the tour became famous in itself. On 1 May, reporters were gathered inside the Fifth Avenue Hotel on 9th Street in New York City's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

to attend a press conference where the Stones were scheduled to appear. But the Stones never went into the hotel. Improvisational comedian "Professor"

Irwin Corey Irwin Corey (July 29, 1914 – February 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comic, film actor and activist, often billed as "The World's Foremost Authority". He introduced his unscripted, improvisational style of stand-up comedy at the San Franci ...

gave a typically long-winded, nonsensical performance for journalists waiting for the Stones. The press was still listening to Corey ramble on when they finally noticed that the Stones were playing "Brown Sugar" on a flatbed truck driving down Fifth Avenue. The handful of curiosity seekers standing outside the hotel – who'd heard a rumor of the press conference and who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Stones entering the hotel – were instead treated to the sight of a

flatbed truck A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck the bodywork of which is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loading of goods, and consequently they are used to trans ...

rolling down

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

carrying the Stones, their instruments and a wall of amps. The truck stopped in front of the hotel entrance and the band played an extended version of "

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

had suggested this adaptation of a promotional gimmick often used by

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

jazz musicians; the idea was later emulated by groups like

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

and U2. After the Stones finished the song, the flatbed truck rolled down Fifth Avenue another block and the band jumped into limousines. They never attended the press conference. The mid-1970s were the era of extravagant stage shows, from the likes of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. In keeping with this, the Stones embraced a new format for the 1975 concerts. Their act was aided by theatrical stage props and gimmicks, including a giant inflatable phallus (nicknamed 'Tired Grandfather' by the band, since it sometimes malfunctioned) and, at some shows, an unfolding

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a ...

-shaped stage that Charlie Watts had conceived. The tour officially began on 3 June 1975 at the Convention Center in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

; however first the group played two warmup shows on 1 June at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. The tour continued, playing mostly arenas in the United States and Canada, including six consecutive nights at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York and five nights at The Forum in Los Angeles. However, a planned Latin American leg in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

for the balance of August was cancelled due to a combination of currency fluctuations and security concerns. Four additional US dates were then added, culminating in a final performance on 8 August at

Rich Stadium Highmark Stadium (also known colloquially as The Ralph) is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, United States, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. It is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). ...

near

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. The 1977 live album ''

Love You Live ''Love You Live'' is a double live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the El Mocambo nightclub concer ...

'' has "

Fingerprint File "Fingerprint File" is the closing track from the Rolling Stones' 1974 album ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll''. It is one of their first attempts to branch out into dance or electronic music, and the song resembles music by Sly and the Family Stone. Key ...

" and "

It's Only Rock 'n Roll ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' is the twelfth studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the last album to feature guitarist Mick Taylor; the songwriting and recording of th ...

" from 17 June 1975 in Toronto, and "

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones. The song was written by Mick Jagger and credited to the Jagger–Richards partnership. It is the opening track on the band's 1968 Studio album, album ''Beggars Banquet ...

" from 9 July 1975 in Los Angeles. In 2012, the entire show from 13 July 1975 in Los Angeles was released as part of the 'Rolling Stones Archive', mixed and remastered by

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born Chiaramonte, January 15, 1953) is an American mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan A ...

. This show was previously available in excellent audience quality on the 'LA Friday' bootleg. The title is a reference to a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' review of the show on Friday, 11 July 1975, even though the actual featured show was from Sunday, 13 July.

Personnel

The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

– lead vocals, harmonica, guitar on "

" *

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

– guitars, vocals *

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

– bass guitar, synthesiser on "

" *

– drums, percussion

Additional musicians

Wood 2007. pg. 137. – guitar, backing vocals, bass guitar on "

" *

– keyboards, vocals * Ollie Brown – percussion, drums on " That's Life" (sung by

) and "

Outa-Space "Outa-Space" is an instrumental recorded by Billy Preston that originally appeared on his 1971 A&M Records-debut album, ''I Wrote a Simple Song''. To create the primary instrumental sound, Preston played a clavinet through a wah wah pedal. The so ...

" (led by Billy Preston) * Ian Stewart – piano New York, Madison Square Garden, June 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27: *The Steel Association – percussion on 'Sympathy for the Devil' New York, Madison Square Garden, June 22: *

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

– guitar on 'Sympathy for the Devil' New York, Madison Square Garden, June 27: *

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

– guitar on 'Sympathy for the Devil' Los Angeles Forum, July 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 shows only: *Steve Madaio – trumpet *Trevor Lawrence,

– saxophone *The Steel Association – percussion on 'Sympathy for the Devil' Los Angeles Forum, July 13: *

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Bob Dylan, Eri ...

– guitar on 'Sympathy For The Devil'

Tour set list

The most typical

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for the shows was: Intro music: ''

Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that yea ...

'' # "

Honky Tonk Women "Honky Tonk Women" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released as a non-album single in July 1969 in the United Kingdom, and a week later in the United States (a country version called "Country Honk" was later includ ...

" # " All Down the Line" # "

If You Can't Rock Me "If You Can't Rock Me" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that was first released as the opening track to the Rolling Stones 1974 album ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll''. Lyrical content The lyrics play off the dual meaning of the word r ...

"/"

Get Off of My Cloud "Get Off of My Cloud" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for a single to follow the successful "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, Californ ...

" # "

Star Star "Star Star" (originally titled "Starfucker") is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In a few select countries, the song was released as a single from the band's album ''Goa ...

" # "

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Jagger–Richards, it is the opening track of the band's 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. The song covers the brutal realities of war, including murder, rape and f ...

" # "

Ain't Too Proud to Beg "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" is a 1966 song and hit single by the Temptations for Motown Records' Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield and written by Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr. The song peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Char ...

" # " You Gotta Move" # "

" # "

Happy Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

" # "

Tumbling Dice "Tumbling Dice" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released worldwide as the lead single from the band's 1972 double album '' Exile on Main St.'' on 14 April 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. A product of Mick ...

" # "

It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It) "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" is the lead single from English rock band the Rolling Stones' 1974 album ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll''. Writing is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and the single reached the top ten in the UK charts ...

" # "

Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" is the fourth track on the Rolling Stones' 1973 album ''Goats Head Soup''. Background Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song's lyrics relate two stories: one is a story of New York City police s ...

" # "

Angie Angie may refer to: People * Angie (given name) * Ängie, a Swedish pop singer * Angie Vázquez, Mexican singer Arts and entertainment * ''Angie'' (Angela Bofill album), 1978 * ''Angie'' (Spill Tab album), 2025 * "Angie" (song), a 1973 single ...

" # "

Wild Horses The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'', sometimes tr ...

" # " That's Life" (sung by

) # "

" (led by Billy Preston) # "

" # "

Midnight Rambler "Midnight Rambler" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album ''Let It Bleed''. The song is a loose biography of Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler. Keith Richards has called the nu ...

" # " Rip This Joint" # "

Street Fighting Man "Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Considered one of the band's most popular and most controversial songs, it features Indian instrumen ...

" # "

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was seen as the band's retu ...

" # Encore: for the New York City and Los Angeles shows "

" was played as an encore, with

and

guesting in New York City and

guesting in Los Angeles. The set was longer than on previous tours, and set list variation was a bit more frequent, with several tunes making sporadic appearances: "

Rocks Off "Rocks Off" is the opening song on the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album '' Exile on Main St.'' Recorded between July 1971 and March 1972, "Rocks Off" is one of the songs on the album that was partially recorded at Villa Nellcôte, a house Keit ...

", "Luxury", " Dance Little Sister", "Cherry Oh, Baby" and "Sure the One You Need". Otherwise, as with their 1972 American Tour, the band's pre-1968 catalogue was almost completely ignored except "Get Off of My Cloud", and their

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...

" absent.

Tour dates

Tickets

Tickets were sold by direct mail order by the concert venue, not a national ticket seller in 1975. For example, A ticket request and a check for $12 (US) was required for each ticket sale for the Jacksonville show sent by US Mail, and was fulfilled in about two weeks.

References

* Carr, Roy. ''The Rolling Stones: An Illustrated Record''. Harmony Books, 1976.

External links

'Rocks Off' page tour setlists

The Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas 1975 - The Lotus Stage

The official book of the Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas '75 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 The Rolling Stones concert tours 1975 concert tours 1975 in American music 1975 in Canadian music Tickets

History

Personnel

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians

Tour set list

Tour dates

Tickets

References

Further reading

External links