Mick Jagger


quote



"It is all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back."
-Mick Jagger

biography



Born Michael Philip Jagger July 26, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, England, to a middle-class family, Mick Jagger was a blues' fan ever since he was a child. The common love for blues that he and Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards share is what brought the band together in the 60's. Jagger and Richards, who were primary school classmates, ran into each other on a train platform where they bonded over their common musical interests.

The once shy Jagger was studying business at the London School of Economics at the time, but he and Richards decided to form a band together. Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts joined what was to become The Rolling Stones.

With a name chosen from a line in a Muddy Waters song, the band began to develop their fan base by playing in London. While The Stones were seeing success in their native land, they had yet to break through in the American market. Although Jagger's skinny, lanky frame and rubbery lips made him the exact opposite of the poster-boy pop stars of the time, his business skills surfaced as he managed to turn his awkward characteristics into commodities -- which has proven to sell out concert and albums.

After the release of "Satisfaction", spawned from their second album, Jagger and The Stones were getting satisfaction with their explosion in the United States. It took an Ed Sullivan show appearance for the band to become popular and a rebellious image to cement their fame in the US. Drug charges, a 3-month imprisonment, and a trial helped create the bad-boy image that led to The Stones' recognition and fame.

Although Jagger avoided making solo musical attempts, he did try his hand at a solo career when he and Richards were experiencing differences in the future direction of the band. His debut solo album, She's the Boss, was released in 1985, and spawned the singles "Just Another Night" and "Lucky in Love". While their videos received heavy MTV play, the album did not see the same success as those of The Rolling Stones.

After a duet with David Bowie in a cover of "Dancing in the Street" for the non-profit organization Live Aid, Jagger returned to his fellow Stones to release the 1986 album Dirty Work. Rather than touring in support of the album, Jagger worked on his second solo outing, Primitive Cool, which received strong reviews but was a commercial failure.

The Rolling Stones reunited once again and saw the phenomenal success of the 1989 album, Steel Wheels, as well as the second most successful tour in history. They followed this up with the Voodoo Lounge tour in support of the 1997 album Bridges to Babylon. Between two successful albums and tours, Jagger also worked on his most successful solo album to date, Wandering Spirit.

In addition to being a musician, lead vocalist and songwriter, Jagger has also entered the realm of acting. His most notable role was that of a cross-dressing club bodyguard in the 1997 film adaptation of the Broadway play Bent, and with his Jagger Films production company, he hopes to release several projects which are already in the works. Jagger has already served as executive producer of Tania, while the Jagger-penned script for Enigma is currently in production.

Many people can claim "Papa was a Rolling Stone." Among them are: his daughter with Marsha Hunt, Karis Jagger; his daughter with ex-wife Bianca Jagger, Jade Jagger; his children with ex-wife Jerry Hall, Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger, Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger, James Leroy Jagger, and Gabriel Luke Beauregard Jagger; and his son with Brazilian model Luciana Giminez Morad. He is also grandfather of Jade Jagger's children, Assisi and Amba.

After an eight-year marriage to model Bianca Perez Morena de Macias, Jagger wed model Jerry Hall, after a twenty-two-year long courtship and a nine-year marriage. Their marriage was declared null and void in August 1999.

Mick Jagger has become more of a pop icon than a star, and his 4-decade long career just keeps on rolling.