Lots of Rolling Stones - Learn Stuff

Rick My Nabor (that`s how JR spells it) recently turned 71, so we have been watching a lot of old Rolling Stones video on the porch. That made me wonder why that term seems to be used so much.

The term \"rolling stone\" has been used a lot in the mid-20th century, especially in the 60`s. The term comes from the proverb \"a rolling stone gathers no moss\". All that means is if a person doesn`t settle down, they won`t have responsibilities. Apparently that was seen as very counter-culture way back then.

The first reference of use in the last 100 years I could find was the 1948 song Lost Highway. More famously, the term was used as the title of a song by Muddy Waters in 1950. This is where the band and Bob Dylan got their idea.

Speaking of which, the band The Rolling Stones came about in 1962, and Dylan had a song and an album with the popular term in 1965.

Rolling Stone magazine didn`t publish until 1967, and by that time the proverbial name had already been used many times. That didn`t stop them from naming their magazine, nor the numerous other references on through the 1970`s.

None of the members of the band made the cover of the magazine by the same name until Mick Jagger was featured in their 15th issue in 1968.

Happy Birthday Rick.