Throughout his 30-year tenure with the Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman teamed up with drummer Charlie Watts to form one of rock's most solid rhythm sections, driving such Stones classics as (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, 19th Nervous Breakdown, Honky Tonk Woman, Brown Sugar, Start Me Up, and Miss You.
“I suppose you could say I created what was happening on Miss You,” Wyman told Bass Player back in 2010. “You know, the walking bass, that octave bass thing. After that, just about every band in the world took that idea and used it in a song. Rod Stewart used it, and a lot of funky bands did, also.”
Additionally, Wyman maintains he created the iconic riff used for Jumpin' Jack Flash, although guitarist Keith Richards ended up playing it on the record.
As the songwriting partnership of Jagger and Richards became the most powerful force within the group, were there many instances where Wyman wasn’t officially credited as a co-songwriter?
“There were lots, because all of the songs were created in the studio. You know, Keith would come in with a riff. That's all, and over the course of a week we would come up with a song. Then Mick would write the lyrics, and it would come out on an album credited as ‘Jagger – Richards.’ That would happen all the time.
“The Beatles gave room for Ringo Starr and George Harrison to do their thing, and the Who gave John Entwistle a chance to write stuff. We just had to live with it or leave. So I went on and did solo albums and movie music, and I produced other artists. I got satisfaction in that way.”
In 1974, Wyman became the first Stone to release a solo album, Monkey Grip. He also became the first to score a hit single, when (Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star, became a surprise European hit seven years later.
Recorded in March 1966, Paint It Black was another landmark Rolling Stones track that Richards described as a “genuine Jagger – Richards collaboration.” Although with Brian Jones introducing a sitar into the mix, the group had trouble piecing things together until Wyman made a musical detour.
“The boys thought the bass guitar needed more bottom-end, so I suggested organ pedals. Then I realized I didn't know how to play them! So I laid on the floor and punched the pedals with my fists. That double-time rhythm kind of made the record, because it was lacking something before I suggested it.”
“What made Paint It Black was Bill Wyman on the organ,” said Richards, “because it didn’t sound anything like the finished record until Bill said, ‘You go like this.’”
In December of 1992, Wyman surprised the music world by announcing his departure just when the Stones were about to sign a huge contract with Virgin Records. The band was undisputedly the world's richest touring attraction.
It was generally assumed that Wyman, 56 at the time of his leaving, and just about to get remarried and begin a new family, wanted to forsake the hectic world of performing, in favor of the serenity accorded to a retired country millionaire gentleman. It was clear that the split was less than amicable, although Wyman maintained that he has no regrets over leaving.
“Are you serious? Not one iota – I never have. I enjoyed my time there, and we're still mates. They didn't understand my leaving at the beginning. So there were bad vibes and nasty comments going out in the press, but then they were all right with my decision. I got married, and they understood what was happening.”
