Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Fame and name recognition have always been relative in the immediate frame and fleeting in the long run. Everyone today talks as if there's no question that people a hundred years from now will be fascinated by Elvis, but I have serious doubts about that. We 'old folks' are still interested in things like Brian Jones' death because these things are a part of our frame of reference, and that's as it should be. People half our age are more concerned about what happened to Tupac Shakur, and that's as it should be too.

History and name recognition are even trickier than fame, though...everyone living in Vietnam today has heard of "The American War", but if you ask a bunch of Americans about it, you'll get blank stares...

I think that there may be a case of being overshadowed here too. While Jones' name might not evoke the same sense as JFK or Monroe, don't forget that he was followed relatively closely by Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison. Those names always seem to bury his when it comes to the fallen artists of that era.

I for one place Brian Jones up there with JFK and Marilyn, I also can't understand why people are coming in here practically bashing him. I disagree that he held the Stones back, maybe at the end when he was too loaded to play but he was the focal point and the main influence on the band for most of the time he was alive and he started the band. There would have been no Stones if he were not alive. The Brian Jones era of The Stones is my favorite followed by the Mick Taylor Stones. When famous people die there is almost always speculation. I would be very surprised if they could find out what really happened at this late date. Two out of 6 discs in my car are Brian Jones era CD's.