After bassist Bill Wyman left The Rolling Stones in 1992, the band endured many auditions to find a replacement for the legendary bassist. The remaining members, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts, found someone who managed to patch the band’s musical fabric and help build upon a 60-year-long legacy.
Videos by American Songwriter
Bassist Darryl Jones, who played alongside Miles Davis and Sting, joined the rock icons in 1993. A new documentary, Darryl Jones: In The Blood, examines his life and career inside and outside of Rolling Stones fame.
Jones grew up on the south side of Chicago and the film depicts his upbringing against the racial and political issues of the time. The documentary also follows the musician through his early music career leading up to joining The Rolling Stones. The bassist spent years building an impressive resume, playing with greats like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Madonna.
Featuring conversations with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood, as well as one of the last filmed interviews with the late Charlie Watts, the film touches on the mark he has made being a part of the Stones.
“In a band, you have to get on with everyone, really, and Darryl is one of those people who—he’s very easy to work with and very pleasant to be around,” Watts said of the artist. “He’s one of the best bass players in the world,” Richards added.
“It’s not an easy thing to replace someone who is a founding member of a band like the Stones,” the documentary’s director Eric Hamburg said in a Q&A about the project. “And yet Darryl was able to do it. I don’t know if they could have gone on for the last 30 years if they hadn’t had Darryl Jones playing with them.”
Hamburg discussed the film in contrast to other documentaries about musicians. “This is not like you see so many movies about ‘This guy was a great musician, but he got strung out and he overdosed and he died, or was in a plane crash or whatever,’” the director explained. “This is a movie about a very inspiring person. And, so I wanted to keep the focus on that.”
Watch the trailer for Darryl Jones: In The Blood below. The film is now playing as a limited release in theaters and is available on select streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Courtesy of Shorefire Media
