Tour by The Rolling Stones | |
Start date | 1 June 1975 |
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End date | 8 August 1975 |
Legs | 1 |
No. of shows | 46 |
The Rolling Stones concert chronology |
The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 was a 1975 concert tour originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South America never solidified, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.
After the departure of Mick Taylor, this was the Stones' first tour with new guitarist Ronnie Wood. Announced on April 14 as merely playing with the band on the tour, it would not be until December 19 that he would be officially named a Rolling Stone. Long time sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price on brass were not featured on this tour, being replaced by Billy Preston on keyboards and Ollie E. Brown on percussion. Bobby Keys made a guest appearance on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Brown Sugar" at the Los Angeles shows.
The Tour of the Americas '75 was not tied to support of any newly released material, as it began more than seven months after the release of their last studio album at the time, It's Only Rock'n Roll; instead, the compilation album Made in the Shade was released to capitalize on the tour's publicity.
The announcement of the tour became famous in itself. On 1 May, reporters were gathered inside the 5th Avenue Hotel on 9th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village to attend a press conference where the Stones were scheduled to appear. But the Stones never went into the hotel. The handful of curiosity seekers standing outside the hotel – who'd heard a rumor of the press conference and who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Stones entering the hotel – were instead treated to the sight of a flatbed truck rolling down 5th Avenue carrying the Stones, their instruments and a wall of amps. The truck stopped in front of the hotel entrance and the band played an extended version of "Brown Sugar".Charlie Watts had suggested this adaptation of a promotional gimmick often used by New Orleans jazz musicians; the idea was later emulated by groups like AC/DC and U2. After the Stones finished the song, the flatbed truck rolled down 5th Avenue another block and the band jumped into limousines. They never attended the press conference.