Strangest Rolling Stones Opening Acts
by Jeff Giles
It’s a pretty extensive list, as you can probably imagine, and we aren’t even trying to get into its full depth and breadth here; instead, we’ve decided to focus on some of the stranger pairings they’ve made along the way. This isn’t to say any of the acts on this list aren’t worth listening to in their own right — in fact, it includes some legends — just that they weren’t the most obvious choices, particularly at the time. Ladies and gentlemen, our choices for the strangest Rolling Stones opening acts!
The Commodores
The Stones' 1974 album was titled
'It's Only Rock 'n Roll,' but their choice of 1975 tour openers
demonstrated the band's fondness for funk. Just rising to prominence
with their early hit 'Machine Gun' after a few years of opening for
Motown labelmates the Jackson 5, the Commodores may have baffled
audiences who showed up to hear the Stones, but they'd go on to become
one of the biggest bands of the decade.
Cheech & Chong
It doesn't happen as often as it
used to, but once upon a time, it was fairly common for comedy acts to
open for rock bands. Knowing that, however, doesn't make it any less
strange to contemplate the notion of Cheech & Chong (followed by Santana) opening for the Stones in 1973. There must have been plenty of Big Bambu in the audience, eh?
Merle Haggard
The Stones have never been shy
about singing the praises of artists to whom they owe an artistic debt,
and their country excursions have certainly been influenced by legends
like Merle Haggard.
Still, having Merle open for them on their 2006 tour has to rank with
one of the most left-field combinations in the band's history.
Justin Timberlake
You'd think the sight of a bunch of
big stars coming together to try and help fight a scary disease would
be enough to put a crowd on its best behavior, but you'd be wrong -- as Justin Timberlake discovered when he took a slot at the 2003 SARSFest in Toronto, opening for AC/DC, Rush,
and the Stones. Timberlake's appearance (which included a duet
performance of 'Miss You,' embedded here) was marred by some unruly
behavior from the audience, including a few who decided to try and pelt
him with muffins and water bottles. As you can see in this clip, the
band didn't take too kindly to it.
Sugar Ray
The Stones have often turned to
younger acts for tour support, and not all of them have aged
particularly well; for example, here's flash-in-the-pan pop band Sugar
Ray, who at least had the self-awareness to title one of their albums
'14:59' (and, it must be said, seemed to be having the time of their
lives while opening for the Stones).
Prince
Lots of people love the Rolling Stones. Lots of people love Prince.
But the number of people who loved both acts in 1981, when Prince
opened for the Stones, was relatively small -- and few of them seemed to
be in attendance during the gigs, which were rumored to include His
Purpleness being booed off the stage. Prince had the last laugh, of
course; just a few years later, he was outselling his former headliners
and dominating the pop charts.
