Chuck’s 40th Anniversary with the Rolling Stones
A nice fellow named Don Wilner pointed out to me that today, Oct 26, 2021, marks the 40th Anniversary of my first appearance on stage with the Rolling Stones. It was Oct. 26th, 1981 in an unannounced show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. I believe the tickets read “The Cockroaches”. I had auditioned for the band earlier that year and came close to getting the gig….but the band kept Ian McLagan for the tour. Still, I had made friends with the Guys and especially with Ian Stuart. Stu called me up a couple of days prior to the Fox gig and told me: “We’re coming to your back yard…would you like to come up for a ‘bash’?” Well, the answer to that was ….”Yes, please!”. I drove up with my wife, Rose Lane, that day and met the guys in the late afternoon as they came to the theater. It was a bit chaotic as they arrived and came into the theater…not much time to talk, but Stu let them know I was there and that he had invited me to play at some point in the set. The Stray Cats opened (many years later, I would up playing with Brian Setzer on his first solo record and tour). Somewhere about 25 or so minutes into the set, Stu gave me the signal to come up…I did, and the first song I played on was “Just My Imagination”…I think I stayed on for “20 Flight Rock”, “Let Me Go” and several other songs including “Beast of Burden”….mainly playing piano, but sliding onto the Hammond B3 on a song or two. Mac (Ian McLagan) was very gracious to me and at one point while we were playing together he looked over his shoulder to me and said “Well…you’ve done this before, haven’t you?” What a great icebreaker than was. Someone in the audience recorded it, and it can be heard on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVAjg3fWfjA , What a great night for me it was….and later that year, Stu called me up and said; “The Boys are going to do a European tour next summer, and we all want you to come with us…”. Well, OK then! 1982 started my official position with the band, and now, 40 years later, here we are still doing it. Yes…without our beloved Charlie, but knowing that he would never want to be the reason the band would stop, we carry on and honor and celebrate him every night on the 2021 “No Filter Tour”.
How blessed am I…..and Happy Anniversary to me!
