Sympathy for the Devil: The Birth of the Rolling Stones and the Death of Brian Jones

by Paul Trynka

The story of the Rolling Stones is one of the epic rock 'n' roll yarns of our time. Their music defined today's cultural landscape and their history is a source of endless fascination for music fans around the world. Yet one crucial part of that story has never been comprehensively the role of Brian Jones, the visionary who founded the band and controlled their early music down to the smallest detail.Drawing on over one hundred interviews with key principals including Keith Richards, Andrew Oldham and Marianne Faithfull, this is a story told from a totally new perspective and which lays bare the shocking ruthlessness, internal warfare and sexual competition within this most legendary of bands. As well as exploring Jones' crucial role in the Stones' music, it will also investigate the unravelling of his psyche, as observed by Brian's family, friends, bandmates, lovers and enemies. Victors get to write the history - but it's never wholly true. Brian's life story is a gripping one, an epic battle between creativity and ambition, between self-sabotage and betrayal. This book will disentangle the threads of the Rolling Stones story and put Brian Jones firmly in the foreground.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

Paul Trynka was formerly the editor of Mojo magazine (1996-2003). He has also been the editorial director of Q magazine, launch editor of The Guitar Magazine, and editor-in-chief of New Projects at Emap. He is the author of Iggy Pop (Broadway 2007), Portrait of the Blues, and Denim, a history of the fabric. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Nigeyb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Trynka aims to reclaim the reputation of Brian Jones with “Sympathy for the Devil: The Birth of the Rolling Stones and the Death of Brian Jones”.

Paul Trynka believes that Brian Jones’s contribution to the band is routinely downplayed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Whilst he might be overstating the case on occasion, I came away convinced that without Brian Jones here would have meant no Rolling Stones. He formed the band, named it, inspired his bandmates, and was the undisputed visionary leader for the first few years.

Unfortunately Brian Jones was also very sensitive, and not the most physically robust individual. Over the years his confidence and contribution was routinely undermined by his managers and bandmates, and - of course - he did himself no favours with his lifestyle choices. The final, and probably biggest, nail in his coffin was a corrupt policeman who, encouraged by members of the establishment, pursued Brian (and other pop stars of the era) with drugs charges, planting evidence when there was none. Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher, the policeman responsible, was later charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice - too late for Brian whose death was indirectly caused by his relentless persecution.

I recommend this for fans of The Rolling Stones, and anyone who enjoys music memoirs.

4/5

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit to being confused. About a year ago, I read Trynka's book on Brian Jones. That one had a picture of Jones wearing a striped shirt playing guitar live, audience behind him. The book that I JUST finished has a picture of Jones's face with the other Stones up at the top. That would be no big deal, but it seems that the two books differ somewhat. Am I imagining this??!! If not, the book I just finished was one of the best written biographies of Jones I have ever read, probably only Bill Wyman's books are as good and that's because Bill was THERE. Trynka has truly done his research thoroughly on a figure who has been largely forgotten over the years, partially because he was only with the band he started for 6 or 7 years of their long career, partially because Jagger and Richards, along with Andrew Oldham their manager during much of the 60's, have all pretty consistently downplayed Brian's role in getting the Stones rolling. There is a little of the hero worship of Jones here that I have seen in many of the other books on his life, (I don't think that he was a "genius" for example) but interviews with people who knew Brian personally reveal an intelligent, talented, but intensely unhappy person who spread the misery around during his short lifetime. He was a malcontent who impregnated multiple girlfriends years before, and after, he got the band together, then didn't help care for the resulting children, indulged himself in sex with both men and women (Wyman in his book, "Stone Alone," calls him "a sexual athlete,") alcohol, drugs, and rock 'n roll past the point of all reason, wrecking his own health while putting together and playing in one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th century! In many ways, it appears that Jones was trying to live the life of a black American blues man, at least during his teens and early years with the band, but as the Stones got more and more popular, Andrew Oldham teamed up with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to sideline Jones's ambition, and some of the ways they managed to do this were not pretty. But Jones had not been exactly honest and decent when he was the leader of the band in the early days, so there was little pity for him later on. As the Stones became world stars, Brian gradually fell apart, becoming a sad joke to the rest of the band when he let his musicianship, once the best in the group, go down the drain, and his addictions and excesses take over completely, until he ended up at the bottom of his swimming pool dead, a month after having been fired from the band he started . It is a story that has become a cliche' over the past 50 or more years with all of the rock star deaths that have been recorded, but Jones's story is particularly pathetic because in many ways he was talented, intelligent, thoughtful, even kind, and a pioneer who brought African American blues and blues related music to a white audience who was not even aware such music existed. All in all, a great book about a complicated subject who deserves a more notable spot than he's been given in the pantheon of rock heroes.

[Dan Richter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Viel Spekulation. Sehr viel "armer Brian" und "böse Mick und Keith".
Viel zu wenig über die musikalischen Beiträge von Brian. Wer hat wann wen böse angeschaut und welchen üblen Witz gemacht, obwohl man hätte wissen können...

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been over different parts of this story before by reading earlier publications. The early 'nanker' scenes at Edith Grove, Chelsea where the embryonic Stones gathered no moss were covered in Simon Goddard's 'Rolleresque'. The conspiracy theories covering the famous drug bust at Redlands (where the mysterious David Schneiderman is exposed as a U.S. spook) and the death of Brian Jones I have previously perused in Terry Rawlings' 'Who Killed Christopher Robin'. With the exception of Bill Wyman, I seem to have the Rolling Bones quite well covered, with Philip Norman's 'Mick Jagger', Keef's 'Life', Alan Clayson's 'Charlie Watts' and Ron Woods' autobiography.
Author Paul Trynka has trawled up countless sources as the Notes on each chapter of 'Sympathy for the Devil' (2014) makes clear. Brian Jones was the man, the founder, the musical innovator and the first 60's icon to enter the '27' club. Here is a book that sets a lot of long playing records straight.

[Anders Olow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The death of Brian Jones, the founder of Rolling Stones, is tragic but not really a total surprise. This book by Paul Trynka, former MOJO editor, seem a well researched journalistic work. It focuses on Brian Jones transformation from a visionary and curious musician to a personal nervous drug using wreck, and it raises the question: Who is to blame? Brian Jones own background with a family that rejected him? His fellow bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards who sometimes mobbed him? His mental state of low self-esteem and paranoia? Corrupt police harrasing him? His drug use?
After reading the book I would say - all of the above.
He is described as "the most outgoing Stone and the most unreliable" and also as "The most selfish, the most spoilt, the most willful, the most thoughtless, demanding, wheedling, maddening, sweet and charming person". Today he would probably have been diagnosed with a couple of letter combinations.
Paul Trynka doesn't go as far as saying Jagger and Richards are the only culprits, he is well aware of Brian Jones's shortcomings in behaviour, but he does come to the conclusion that they could have been there for him more. Nothing is ever black or white.
He concludes: "Only Bill Wyman has stood up for the band's founder: 'As the years go by, I become ever more convinced he's (Brian) entitled to a free pardon'."
After reading this book I do take with me a bigger understanding of Brian Jones's actual important contributional musicianship, but also of his own character, his anxiety and his use of drugs wasting that talent, annoying to everyone around him.
The focus on Brian Jone's death seems over the decades to have transformed a visionary into a victim. This book puts the light back on the visionary.
* * *
Being a fan of blues guitarist Peter Green, founder of the original Fleetwood Mac, I do see similarities between him and Brian Jones; both suffering of mental problems, both exquisite musicians in constant creative search of new music, both with a rather shy persona, both drug users that got out of control, both in a way victims.

[Michael Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched journalistic work which focuses on Brian's Jones background with a family that rejected him. His mental state of low self-esteem and paranoia? Perhaps drink helped with his low self-esteem and drugs played their part in his paranoia.

I came to the conclusion that you can't always trust those that you think are your friends, as in the case of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, after Andrew Oldham teamed up with them to sideline Jones.

Jones was already playing blues in clubs in London, while Jagger was rehearsing in his front room and and also acted as a mentor for Richards , being the guy who taught Richards to play the guitar better and showed Jagger how to play harmonica. Jones was the pioneer who brought African American blues and blues related music to a white audience who was not even aware. Without Jones there would not have been any Rolling Stones.

[Phil Rice]

Paul Trynka has put together an exceptional book about how The Stones were born and about Brian Jones in general with his own personal life. Myself as many other fans many years ago thought that The Stones evolved through Jagger and Richards, yes the songwriting duties did but the man who got them together was Brian Jones he was the founder of the band and the one who wanted them to stay within the core of the blues scene in London and was he was the very first white man in the UK to play the slide guitar and many other instruments and also incorporate that into the sound of The Stones.

[Shaun Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this straight after Keith Richards' autobiography and very glad I did! Recognises Jones' very serious faults (hitting women, general misogyny - those things cannot be overlooked) but also explores his damaged upbringing and puts the record straight on his musical contribution to the Stones' music and the wider musical landscape.

[A D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good attempt at trying to make Jones a more sympathetic figure than the one he was portrayed to be by his band mates. He still comes across as a bit of a bam though but considering that Jagger and Richards also seem to be a couple of bams, he wasn’t that bad.

[Hans Canters · Rating 1 out of 5]

Te veel klootzakken in dit boekje... en nog lullig geschreven ook.

[Patrick Macke · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found it worthwhile ... very little here about the actual music, rather, mostly interesting facts that validate the following:
-Brian had a pioneering influence on bringing black r&b into the mainstream, especially muddy waters and howlin wolf
-Brian was one of the first to champion blues-based rock and was a standard-bearing musician
-Brian was in many ways "devilish", was disassociated from his family for his love of the blues and was addicted in many ways
-Mick and Keith are pricks, treated Brain like shit and give him no credit for starting the band
-He drowned because he was stoned, not murdered

Underrated musician and pioneer

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly no fan of the Glimmer Twins is the author. There isn't a lot new here about the band's treatment of Jones nor of his genius and role in bringing not just the band but the style of blues to the rock scene.

But it's an interesting tale if for no other reason than that it's well researched and flows nicely.

Spoiler: He dies. In a pool.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow ! Great detail and well written. I have read countless books on The Stones and this is well up at the top. Such and interesting read and well researched. Top marks despite the author's obvious dislike of Mick & Keith.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting recasting and re-examination of Jones's life and his importance to the Stones. I'm pretty sure this is the same book as Trynka's Brian Jones and the Making of the Rolling Stones, under a different title, but I may be wrong.