Brian Jones

Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was born 28 February 1942 in England. He started as a slide guitarist and founded the Rolling Stones as a British blues outfit in 1962, naming the band himself. As Keith Richards and Mick Jagger became a successful songwriting team, they began steering the group's direction, and Jones's role shrank. He played a wide variety of instruments on recordings and sang backing vocals, but alcohol and drug problems made him increasingly unreliable in the studio. In June 1969, the Rolling Stones dismissed him; guitarist Mick Taylor replaced him. Less than a month later, on 3 July 1969, Jones drowned in the swimming pool at Cotchford Farm, East Sussex, age 27. His death prompted songs from other bands and poems from Pete Townshend and Jim Morrison. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a member of the Rolling Stones.