The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the "British Invasion" of English bands that became popular in the U.S. in the mid-sixties. They have released twenty-four studio albums, eleven live albums and numerous compilations. Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. Their most recent album of new material, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on "The Billboard Top All-Time Artists" and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Rolling Stones' advent brought greater international recognition to the primitive urban blues typified by Chess Records' artist Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", the song for which the band is named. Critic and musicologist Robert Palmer said their endurance and relevance stems from being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone". In 2012 the band celebrated their 50th anniversary.