1. The Rolling Stones(1962-present) Inducted in 1989 Rose to prominence as part of the British Invasion in the mid-1960’s Musical roots in blues; the band name The Rolling Stones came from the Muddy Waters track, “Rollin’ Stone” Drew on a number of different musical traditions, including blues, rhythm and blues, country, folk, reggae, dance, and world music

2. The Rolling Stones and Vietnam With the escalation of the Vietnam War in the late 1960’s, the countercultural movement became more focused on anti- war and anti-violence sentiments, switching from a tone of optimism to one of disillusionment. “Well, it’s a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense. The thing about Vietnam was that it wasn’t like World War II, and it wasn’t like Korea, and it wasn’t like the Gulf War. It was a real nasty war, and people didn’t like it. People objected, and people didn’t want to fight in it… That’s a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It’s apocalypse; the whole record’s like that.” --Mick Jagger (1995) on “Gimme Shelter” “War, children, it’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away. Rape, murder, It’s just a shot away, It’s just a shot away.”

3. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards The songwriting pair of Jagger/Richards are credited with writing over 100 released Rolling Stones singles and have worked together for over 50 years. Especially early in their collaboration, Richards would write the music while Jagger would compose the lyrics.

4. Backup and Guest Singers Pop and rock records frequently utilize backup and guest vocalists, though they are not always credited. Even on records, such as “Gimme Shelter,” where guest vocalists are prominently featured, the performance does not always lead to fame or fortune. Merry Clayton (credited as Mary Clayton on the original release) sings the iconic female vocals for The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” though her name is not commonly associated with the single.