The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in Dartford, Kent in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of band leader Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), and Charlie Watts (drums). The Rolling Stones were in the vanguard of the British Invasion of the US in 1964 and 1965. Initially infamous for the long hair of its members as much as their music, the band is identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They made blues a major part of rock and roll, and popularised, worldwide, the grass roots blues typified by Chess Records artists. These included Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", the song that inspired Jones to name the band. Their first single, "Come On" was released on June 1963 and reached number 21 in the UK hit parade.
After seven successful albums, a period of musical experimentation culminated in the poorly received and largely psychedelic album, Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). But the group returned to their blues roots with Beggars' Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile on Main St. (1972) which are considered to be the band's best work from their "Golden Age". Musicologist Robert Palmer attributed the "remarkable endurance" of the Rolling Stones to being "rooted in traditional verities, in rhythm-and-blues and soul music" while "more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone"