Bill Wyman gives an update on the sequel to his 'Stone Alone' memoir
Former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman has given an update on the sequel to his 1990 memoir, "Stone Alone." Wyman has been saying for years that there would be a follow-up to "Stone Alone," but now he has revealed the current status of the book sequel.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Wyman says:
"It's my second Rolling Stones memoir. I'm writing from the start. My first, 'Stone Alone,' covered 1962 to 1969 but was criticized for being too long and detailed. This is more reflective. I'm now up to 1973."
Wyman did not say at what year the memoir sequel would end.
Wyman joined the Rolling Stones in 1962, and he retired from the band about 30 years later. His music projects since leaving the Rolling Stones include the retro rock/R&B band Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings. As previously reported, a Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings box set is due for a U.S. release on October 25, 2011. Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings launch a three-month U.K. tour with Mary Wilson (of the Supremes fame) on October 17, 2011.
Wyman was the first member of the Rolling Stones to write a memoir. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood (who joined the band in the mid-1970s) was the second Rolling Stone to write a memoir: his 2007 autobiography, "Ronnie."
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is the most recent member of the band to write his memoir. Richards' 2010 autiobiography, "Life," became a critically acclaimed, award-winning international bestseller. "Life" is currently the world's biggest-selling book on the Rolling Stones. Because Richards is an original member of the Stones who is still in the band, "Life" is the only memoir written by a Rolling Stone that covers the band's entire history up to the time of writing.
In March 2011, Mick Taylor (who was the Rolling Stones' lead guitarist from 1969 to 1974, when he quit the band) announced that he is working on his memoir, but he said that the book will not be a "tell-all" memoir filled with tales of sex, drugs and debauchery.
As for Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, there is little to no chance that they will ever write their memoirs. Watts has said in many interviews that he has no interest in writing an autobiography or even reading the memoirs of his band mates. In the early 1980s, Jagger signed a book deal to write his memoir but the deal was canceled because Jagger did not want it to be a "tell-all" book.
In a 2011 interview with USA Today, Jagger had this to say about writing a memoir:
"The thing about writing books is you have to live through your whole life and dredge up all this stuff. To my mind, it's rather a dull experience. When people get to a certain age, they tend to live in the past. They get ossified. 'I remember when' is how it usually starts. 'I remember when the Internet didn't exist.' I think it's more fun to write fiction. At least it gets your imagination going, instead of dredging up these ancient histories distorted through the lens of years."
