{"id":893688,"date":"2026-10-25T02:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T02:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893688\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T02:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T02:50:10","slug":"born-90-years-ago-today-in-england-the-rock-legend-who-spent-30-years-with-the-rolling-stones-before-walking-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893688\/","title":{"rendered":"Born 90 Years Ago Today in England, the Rock Legend Who Spent 30 Years With the Rolling Stones Before Walking Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this day (October 24) in 1936, William George Perks was born in Lewisham, London, England. Legally changing his name to Bill Wyman in 1964, he is best known for his time as the bassist for British rock legends The Rolling Stones<\/a>. From 1962 until 1993, Wyman quietly kept rhythm on the Stones\u2019 most enduring tunes \u2014 including 11 number-one hits \u2014 as the band\u2019s global presence expanded and their place in music history solidified. <\/p>\n

Since ending his 31-year tenure with The Rolling Stones, Wyman has continued to release new music \u2014 both as a solo artist and with his blues-rock outfit the Rhythm Kings, which he formed in 1997. He released his ninth solo album, Drive My Car, in August 2024.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re highlighting the invaluable musical contributions of Bill Wyman in honor of his 90th birthday.<\/p>\n

Bill Wyman\u2019s Grandmother Heavily Influenced Him<\/p>\n

One of six children born to a bricklayer and his wife, air-raid sirens were an all-too-frequent soundtrack to Bill Wyman\u2019s childhood in wartime London. And living with a stern military father meant that physical affection was often in short supply.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he has characterized his upbringing as a happy one, taking piano lessons<\/a> from his grandmother, Florence French.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s through her I really got into music,\u201d Wyman told Louder in 2024. \u201cShe got me into the local church choir which started it all. She did everything. Everything that I do now, it\u2019s all from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Military Service and Musical Beginnings<\/p>\n

Bill Wyman left school before sitting for his final exams, as his father had found him a bookkeeping job and insisted he take it. In January 1955, however, he was called for two years of national service in the Royal Air Force.<\/p>\n

After signing up for an extra year of military service, Wyman headed to Oldenburg Air Force Base in West Germany. This stint also served as his introduction to rock and roll music through radio broadcasts on the American Armed Forces Network.<\/p>\n

In 1956, Wyman bought a guitar. The following year, he formed a skiffle group with Casey Jones, who later led Casey Jones and the Engineers, which briefly featured Eric Clapton.<\/p>\n

After his military service ended, Wyman returned to London, where he switched to bass and joined a group called the Cliftons.<\/p>\n

His pivot was purely for practical reasons, as the Cliftons found themselves with three guitarists and no bassist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Somebody\u2019s got to play bass,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cThe lead guitarist said, \u2018I\u2019m not.\u2019 The rhythm guitar said, \u2018I\u2019m not.\u2019 So I said, \u2018I suppose I\u2019m gonna have to do it.\u2019 I didn\u2019t have a bass guitar, so I had to make one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rolling Stones<\/p>\n

Bill Wyman left the Cliftons in mid-1962, replacing Dick Taylor as the bassist for an R&B band called the Rolling Stones.<\/p>\n

At 25, he was the oldest member, and also its most unassuming. Wyman was never particularly keen on the rock-and-roll excesses for which his bandmates became famous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never had any, nor did Charlie [Watts, the late Rolling Stones drummer], we were always completely clean,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had responsibilities, so we behaved ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solo Work<\/p>\n

In 1974, Bill Wyman became the first member<\/a> of the Rolling Stones to record a solo album with Monkey Grip. The LP reached number 39 on the UK charts and even managed to crack the U.S. Billboard 200.<\/p>\n

Two years later, he followed with Stone Alone. And in 1981, Wyman notched a top 20 solo single with \u201c(Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star\u201d, a dance track he\u2019d originally written for Ian Drury.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

Wyman continued his side projects<\/a> throughout his time with the Stones, including a short-lived cover band called Willie and the Poor Boys that also featured Watts and Led Zeppelin\u2019s Jimmy Page.<\/p>\n

Departure from the Stones<\/p>\n

In January 1993, Bill Wyman put longstanding rumors to rest when he announced his exit from the Rolling Stones.<\/p>\n

His departure came amid financial struggles for the band and a bitter feud between lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. And according to Wyman<\/a>, the decision was long overdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have left in the \u201980s when it was falling apart,\u201d he told Classic Rock magazine in 2024. \u201cI hung on for a three-tour ending across \u201889 and \u201890 [three legs of the Steel Wheels\/Urban Jungle tour], after seven years of nothing, and I\u2019d ended up with a bank overdraft of \u00a3200,000, because we weren\u2019t earning anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1997, Wyman formed the Rhythm Kings, featuring guitarists Peter Frampton and Albert Lee.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: Remember When: Bill Wyman Became the First Original Member of The Rolling Stones to Willingly Leave the Band]<\/a><\/p>\n

He has reunited with the Stones sporadically over the years, including on the song \u201cLive By the Sword\u201d on the band\u2019s 2023 album Hackney Diamonds.<\/p>\n

Featured image by Paul Natkin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On this day (October 24) in 1936, William George Perks was born in Lewisham, London, England. Legally changing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[199836,352559,2617,88,216],"class_list":["post-893688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1930s","tag-bill-wyman","tag-classic-rock","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}