{"id":631474,"date":"2026-04-27T08:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T08:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631474\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T08:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T08:10:09","slug":"the-classic-non-rolling-stones-songs-ian-stewart-played-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631474\/","title":{"rendered":"The classic non-Rolling Stones songs Ian Stewart played on"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ian<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ MUBI)<\/p>\n

Mon 27 April 2026 4:00, UK <\/p>\n

Given that he was the first person to respond to Brian Jones\u2019s advert about joining The Rolling Stones<\/a>, you could say that Ian Stewart got a rather unfair end of the bargain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was a diehard fan of the blues and big band jazz, and yet even with his skills as a keyboardist, he was asked to take a backseat in the band<\/a> in 1963 by their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, who didn\u2019t feel he was the right fit for the group\u2019s image. While he had every right to be hurt, however, Stewart stayed. <\/p>\n

Taking on the humble road of The Stones\u2019 road manager and pianist throughout the decades that followed, Oldham had to admit the error of his ways once he realised the humility of the man. \u201cI\u2019d probably have said, \u2018Well, fuck you,\u2019 but he said, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll just drive you around.\u2019 That takes a big heart, but Stu had one of the largest hearts around,\u201d the manager later admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of this is to say that Stewart never seemed particularly interested in the fame and fortune aspect of the music industry, but simply enjoyed being there for the services he could provide and connections he could make. To this end, he did know his place \u2013 and the times he left The Rolling Stones behind made for some iconic moments. <\/p>\n

Between connections to Led Zeppelin and Howlin\u2019 Wolf, it was clear that despite his somewhat less illustrious status, Stewart certainly had some storied celebrity friends. In this vein, he played on both \u2018Rock and Roll\u2019 from Led Zeppelin IV, as well as \u2018Boogie With Stu\u2019 from\u00a0Physical Graffiti, unsurprisingly named after him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which other artists did Ian Stewart play for?<\/p>\n

Outside the immediate heights of the top echelons of British rock bands, however, Stewart\u2019s love of the boogie-woogie style also bagged him some powerful credits<\/a> on albums that were pivotal to the genre. Playing as part of The London Howlin\u2019 Wolf Sessions in 1971 to \u2018Bad Penny Blues\u2019 on The Blues Band\u2019s album These Kinds of Blues, his roots were never forgotten. <\/p>\n

Despite this, Stewart always maintained a close space in his heart for his old Stones cronies, staying by their side all the way up until the early \u201880s. He perhaps realised the size of the bullet he had dodged within that \u2013 never getting involved in the band\u2019s drug-taking or tax-avoiding antics, he always stayed on the straight and narrow. <\/p>\n

In that respect, it made what happened next all the more cruel and unfair, as in a tragic twist of fate, Stewart died in a doctor\u2019s waiting room in 1985, at the age of 47, after suffering from respiratory symptoms. He\u2019d had a massive heart attack and was suddenly gone forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the desperate sadness of the situation, The Rolling Stones were hellbent on never dismissing the legacy of their fallen friend. At their insistence, when the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Stewart\u2019s name was also included as a founding member. Above all else, that was perhaps a greater testament to his legacy than anything.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n

All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ MUBI) Mon 27 April 2026 4:00, UK Given that he was the first person…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,236370,1351,341,20534],"class_list":{"0":"post-631474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ian-stewart","12":"tag-led-zeppelin","13":"tag-music","14":"tag-the-rolling-stones"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}