The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock ’n’ roll band of all time. Dispute it if you will, but them’s the facts, son. In terms of quantity and quality, commercial and artistic success, they were the best singles band of the mid ’60s. Between 1963 and 1968, they released a string of perfect or nearly perfect songs: “Time Is on My Side,” “Play With Fire,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “As Tears Go By,” “Paint It, Black,” “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and dozens of others.
Then, in 1968, with the release of Beggars Banquet, the Rolling Stones became something else entirely: The world’s greatest album-oriented band. They followed up Beggars Banquet with Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St., masterpieces one and all. Then, the long, occasionally brilliant, and still ongoing coda.
So here’s the math: the best singles band of the mid-60s, arguably the best overall era for singles; add to that, the best album run of the late ’60s and early ’70s; and then, after that, add 40 more years of less consistent but still way better-than-average music, and what do you get? The best rock ’n’ roll band of all time.
It’s an artistic achievement worth celebrating. That celebration is something Rudy Colombini has dedicated his life to. Colombini plays the iconic role of Mick Jagger in the Unauthorized Rolling Stones, a tribute band.
“When you’re doing Mick, you don’t want to do Mick; you want to just get that energy out there,” says Colombini. “And the energy of the Jagger persona is essentially a sex attack. It’s a sex attack in musical form.”
According to Colombini, a Stones tribute act offers a lot more freedom for expression than other tribute bands. After all, some of the Stones’ best music is defined by its looseness, and with the Stones, a note-for-note reproduction isn’t as important as getting the vibe right.
“You do have a lot of freedom to extrapolate, both musically and performance-wise, when you’re doing the Rolling Stones,” says Colombini. “You do musically, because you’re not harmonizing intensely focused, as if you’re doing a Beatles band or Queen, so you do have leeway, musically, and you also have leeway in how you present the performance.”
The Unauthorized Rolling Stones focuses on the core of the authorized band’s catalog: those four albums from 1968-1972, as well as Some Girls, the Stones’ late ’70s peak.
The music of the Stones has aged so well because, even though it is closely associated with a certain era, it addresses timeless themes.
“They continue to be so popular because they offer a view on the world that, when you get to the bottom line, it translates into freedom,” says Colombini. “It’s about the empowerment of yourself artistically, sexually and intellectually.”
And, for Colombini, the role of Jagger continues to be an inspiration.
“No matter how low my moment may be before a concert—I may be sick, I may be bummed about something—but when you come out singing ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,’ it’s over,” he says. “It’s like being shot out of a cannon.”