Back in 1972, The Rolling Stones Paid Tribute in Song to a Fallen Former Member

In a career full of dizzying highs and difficult lows, the death of Brian Jones in 1969 represents one of the lowest ebbs in The Rolling Stones’ history. His personal problems overwhelmed his promise as a musician. Jones had already been fired by the band he helped found at the time of his death.

The Stones kept rolling on down the road without him. But a wonderful song from 1972 showed that their former friend was still very much on their minds and in their hearts.

Jones’ Influence

The blues purism of Brian Jones helped form the music identity of The Rolling Stones. Jones was the leader of the band that was joined by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. That group eventually morphed into the Stones. But he soon took a backseat to Jagger and Richards when it came to deciding the direction of the band.

Jones found a role in the mid-60s as a multi-instrumentalist. During the band’s baroque pop period, he delivered touches, like the recorder on the huge hit “Ruby Tuesday”, that added a little bit of the unexpected to the equation.

By the end of the decade, however, Jones’ contributions to The Stones’ records were minimal. His bandmates largely started to shun him. That eventually led to his firing from the band on June 8, 1969. Less than a month later, Jones was found dead in his swimming pool.

A Song Many Years in the Making

On July 5, 1969, two days after Jones’ death, The Rolling Stones performed a free concert at Hyde Park in London. They began it with Mick Jagger reading a Shelley poem while butterflies were released into the crowd. All of that was meant to honor Jones. That was also the show where Mick Taylor, Jones’ replacement, made his public debut.

With Taylor in the band, the Stones rededicated themselves to roots-based music, leaving behind the ornately produced style to which Jones had often contributed. The band went on an incredible hot streak of stellar albums. That included the 1972 release, Exile On Main St. Many believe that double album to be the band’s peak.

For that record, the band recorded the song “Shine A Light”. Mick Jagger began writing it about Brian Jones while he was still alive. He then finished it after Jones’ death. Maybe that’s why the song pulls no punches about Jones’ occasionally rough state, while also imagining a happy ending for him.

“Shine” On

Jagger had been inspired by the gospel music that he heard when his friend Billy Preston brought him to local churches in Los Angeles. That influence crept into several songs on Exile On Main St., including “Shine A Light”, which includes lovely piano work from Preston as well.

The lyrics talk about how Jones was occasionally let down by his choice of company. (“And your late-night friends leave you in the cold gray dawn.”) But they also give Jones a soft landing in the afterlife. “May the Good Lord shine a light on you,” Jagger sings. “Make every song your favorite tune.”

You might not think of The Rolling Stones as a sentimental band. But on “Shine A Light”, they demonstrated that they could bring the emotion without skimping on the harsh truths of Brian Jones’ life and death.

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