Brian Jones

Brian Jones was an English musician who co-founded the band the Rolling Stones along with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, and was considered the band’s leader during its initial years. The band members, with their longish hair and unconventional look became the epitome of the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s, and were at the forefront of the phenomenon known as the British Invasion of the United States. Born to music loving parents in Gloucestershire, Jones was exposed to music from an early age. Inspired by Cannonball Adderley's music, he was drawn to jazz and acquired a saxophone as a teenager. A highly intelligent boy, he performed well at school even though he disliked the discipline and conformance. He dropped out of school and lived a bohemian life for a few years, travelling and performing on streets. During this time he also fathered several children with different women. Over a period of time he managed to establish himself as a popular blues musician and proceeded to form the band Rolling Stones which achieved great international popularity. Though talented, Jones was heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol which ultimately brought about his removal from the band he had founded and led to his untimely death at the age of 27.