Died On This Date (December 12, 1985) Ian Stewart / Co-founder of Rolling Stones

themusicsover December 12, 2009 0 Comments

Ian Stewart
July 18, 1938 – December 12, 1985

Ian Stewart was a Scottish boogie-woogie piano player who, in 1962, was the first to respond to Brian Jones’ ad looking for musicians to form a band.  Dick Taylor, Tony Chapman, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were soon to follow, and the original unit of the Rolling Stones was born.   Within a few months, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman replaced Taylor and Chapman.  In early 1963, the band’s manager convinced the others that Stewart’s burly physique just didn’t fit in with the image the band was developing, so he was relegated to road manager and studio keyboardist.  He played on all but one Stones album between 1964 and 1983.   Over the years, Stewart played keyboards on Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” and “Boogie With Stu” (named for Stewart), as well as George Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone and Howlin’ Wolf’s London Sessions albums.   On December 12, 1985, Ian Stewart, 47,  went to a local hospital to have an ongoing respiratory problem checked out.  While in the waiting room, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

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