Did Ronnie Wood Manifest His Way Into The Rolling Stones Lineup in 1969? Based on This Story, Absolutely

To say that someone built their career by being in the “right place at the right time” might sound a little cliché, even dismissive, but that adage really does seem to describe the trajectory of Ronnie Wood’s career. The future guitarist for The Rolling Stones got his start playing in various bands around the U.K., including The Birds (not to be confused with The Byrds), in the mid-1960s. By the end of the decade, Wood was playing with Rod Stewart in the Faces.

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Wood had developed a reputation among the musical community for his easygoing demeanor and impressive talent. So, when Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts saw Wood walking near Hyde Park one fateful day in 1969, the musicians stopped the car to say hello. While their encounter that day was brief, the seeds planted that day would later grow into something that would change rock ‘n’ roll music forever.

When those blooms finally blossomed in late April 1976, Wood wasn’t even surprised. That’s how sure he was that he was on the right path.

Ronnie Wood and the Rolling Stones’ Brief Encounter in 1969

Ronnie Wood was getting steady work with the Faces in 1969. But Faces were no Rolling Stones, and Wood was very much still a fan of the latter. During a 2025 interview with The Telegraph, Wood recalled a day he went to see The Stones perform at Hyde Park. “I was just a kid wandering around on the outside in dreamland thinking, ‘I want to be in that band.’ And a car pulls up, and it’s Mick [Jagger, lead singer] and Charlie [Watts, drummer].”

“In those days, record companies had Christmas parties, and you’d bump into all the bands,” Wood explained. “The Stones, The Beatles, The Pretty Things, whoever it may be. Anyway, Mick and Charlie said, ‘We’ve gotta play now. We’ll see you soon.’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Sooner than you think.’ I’ll never forget that.”

The Guitarist Knew He Was the Right Man for the Job

Even though Ronnie Wood didn’t join The Rolling Stones right then and there, the fact that he had just been thinking about wishing he could—and then immediately seeing Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts—seems nothing short of kismet. Still, that serendipity would take about five years to come to fruition. In 1974, The Rolling Stones first called on Wood to join the band as a fill-in guitarist after Mick Taylor left. He toured with the band the following year, too.

By 1976, everyone seemed to know the direction the band needed to take (including Wood). “In April [of 1976], I sat down with Mick and Keith [Richards] in the Munich Hilton, and we had a little meeting,” Wood recounted in his memoir, Ronnie. “Keith admitted to me that his first choice to replace Mick Taylor had been Steve Marriott. But the Stones agreed that what they really needed was a lead and rhythm guitar player, and eventually settled on three names—Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and me. No matter who was up for the job, I fitted the mold.”

“Keith said to me, ‘You’re in the band.’ I told him, ‘Yeah, I know,’” Wood said. And indeed, it seemed like he knew even all those years ago during a chance encounter outside of Hyde Park.

Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns