English rock guitarist and bassist Ronnie Wood was born 1 June 1947. He is best known as a former member of The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, and a member of The Rolling Stones since 1975. He also plays lap and pedal steel guitar. Wood began his career in 1964, when he joined The Byrds on guitar. He then joined the mod group The Creation, but only remained with the group for a short time, and appeared on a small number of singles. Wood then joined The Jeff Beck Group in 1967. They released two albums, Truth and Beck-Ola, which became moderate successes. The group split in 1969, and Wood departed along with lead vocalist Rod Stewart to join former Small Faces members Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones in a new group, dubbed the Faces. The group, although relegated to “cult” status in the US, found great success in the UK and mainland Europe. The Faces released their debut album, First Step, in 1970. The group went on to release Long Player and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink… to a Blind Horse in 1971. Their last LP, entitled Ooh La La, was released in 1973. After the group split, Wood began several solo projects, eventually recording his first solo LP, I’ve Got My Own Album to Do, in 1974. The album featured former bandmate McLagan as well as former Beatle George Harrison and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones,Keith Richards was a longtime friend of Wood’s and soon invited Wood to join The Rolling Stones, after the departure of Mick Taylor. Wood joined in 1975, and has remained a member ever since. The Rolling Stones were formed in London in 1962 and have become one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music.
The group’s earliest line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bassist) and Charlie Watts (drummer). As of 1993, Jagger, Richards and Watts are the only remaining original members, completing the official line-up with Ronnie Wood (guitarist). In studio and live performances, Darryl Jones (bassist) and Chuck Leavell (keyboardist) also serve as a regular contributors.The Rolling Stones have released twenty-two studio albums in the United Kingdom (24 in the United States), eleven live albums (twelve in the US), and numerous compilations.Their album Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums reaching number one in the United States. 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. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Rock Hall states; “critical acclaim and popular consensus has accorded them the title of the “World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” They were ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. As a member of the Rolling Stones, Wood was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a second time, as a member of Faces, in April 2012