So whenever I used to hear The Rolling Stones being touted as “The Greatest Rock n’ Roll Band,” I took it more than a grain of salt. But after seeing Mic Jagger, Keith Richards, and the rest perform in Charlotte during the band’s No Filter tour recently I have to admit there may be something to that superlative billing.
With close to six decades behind them, The Stones were still in top form, playing three hours of their hits and new material to an appreciative audience packed into the Bank of America Stadium. You know a group has a deep repertoire when after I got home I put on the Forty Licks album, a collection of the Stones biggest hits, and heard five songs in a row that weren’t even included in the show. Yet, there were plenty of classics on tap to satisfy even the most devout fan.
Respectful tributes were given at the beginning of the show and during the performance to Charlie Watts, the drummer who died earlier this year. Few bands with so many original members have been able to remain intact for so long.
Mic still has the amazing energy and moves that he displayed all the way back in the days of the black and white Ed Sullivan Show. You also know an English band has become ingrained into the U.S. culture when the instantly recognized introduction to one of its tunes, Start Me Up, is commonly used prior to the kickoff of American football games.
And as more evidence of The Rolling Stones’ renown is that its play list shows up in many blockbuster movie sound tracks over the last five decades. Those films include Apocalypse Now, Casino, The Departed, Full Metal Jacket, and Jerry Maguire just to name a few. The funeral scene near the beginning of “The Big Chill” certainly would not have been the same without “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” playing in the background.
I’m well aware that The Beatles top the list of many Best-Band polls, and that group’s contribution to rock music certainly can’t be denied. If that band was still around performing and producing new material, even with just the two surviving members, there would be a much tighter contest.
But by several measures – longevity, relevance, popularity, and showmanship – I’m now convinced The Rolling Stones are well deserving of the title of The Greatest Rock n’ Roll Band of All Time.