Licks tells the story of the Stones, right from its very origins.On July 12, 1962, London's Marquee Club debuted a new act, a blues-inflected rock band named after a Muddy Waters song-the Rolling Stones. They were a hard-edged band with a flair for the dramatic, styling themselves as the devil's answer to the sainted Beatles.A young, inexperienced producer named Andrew Loog Oldham first heard the band at a session he remembers with four words: "I fell in love." Though unfamiliar with such basic industry practices as mixing a recording, he made a brilliant decision-he pitched the band to a studio that had passed on the Beatles. Afraid to make the same mistake twice, they signed the Stones, and began a history-making career.This is just one of the fifty classic stories that make up 50 Licks, each named for a different Stones song. Many are never before told, some are from exclusive interviews-including with elusive bassist Bill Wyman-and all are told by the people who lived them. Part oral history, part memorabilia, this fiftieth anniversary book is the Stones album every collector will need to have.

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