Bill Wyman — The Rolling Stones

Dennis Elsas with Bill Wyman

He’s played with a band called Willy and the Poor Boys and still performs with the Rhythm Kings, but Bill Wyman remains best known as the long time bass player for The Rolling Stones. He joined the Stones in Dec 1962 and for the next thirty years recorded and performed with the group as they became “the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band”. Recently he reunited with them briefly as a special guest on stage as they kicked off their 50th anniversary celebration.

After leaving the Stones in 1992 to focus on getting his personal life straightened out, he has written numerous books, continued to play and record music and even opened a successful London restaurant called Sticky Fingers. An avid collector of many things, Wyman has often been called the Rolling Stones archivist. His impressive coffee table style Rolling With The Stones book is a wonderful insight into the band’s history, filled with a remarkable collection of photos, posters, ticket stubs, and stories that only he could tell.

I spoke to Bill Wyman in the fall of 2002 when the book was released and among the many subjects we covered, I wanted to learn the definitive story of how the band got their name.