July 12th marked 50 years of the Rolling Stones playing together as a band. Say what you want about the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and all the other supergroups through rock history. When it comes to longevity and consistency, nobody has ever come close to these "Bad Boys of Rock n' Roll". Recently, Keith Richards was asked his secret to such a remarkable track record. His advice was basically "not to work for others." That is not totally practical for many in rock or other lines of work, but I took it as something close to what Rick Nelson sang in his comeback hit "Garden Party" from 1972: "You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself." The Stones have lived their passion for over five decades. Fans knew that and felt they had joined them on that journey whenever they bought their albums, heard them on the radio or saw them in concert. Given the list of their contemporaries who left us much too soon and the Stones' own wild story, it's not a matter of how they survived as a band. It's more amazing how they even stayed alive.
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