Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as a member of the Rolling Stones. He spent 31 years with the rock and roll band from 1962 to 1993 before departing to pursue a solo career. He is a singer, songwriter, and bassist, as well as a composer of music for film and television. Born into a modest family, he endured a difficult childhood marked by poverty. At a young age, he developed an interest in music and began playing the organ with his father. He also took piano lessons as a child. He became acquainted with the music of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino while serving in the British Royal Air Force on a base in Germany. Back home, he took a serious interest in pursuing a musical career and began honing his abilities. In 1962, he joined the Rolling Stones, where he enjoyed a highly successful career and developed a close personal friendship with Brian Jones. In the 1970s and 1980s, he also released solo albums while continuing to work with the band. He left the Rolling Stones in 1993, dissatisfied with the creative freedom he received within the band. He then formed Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, a blues-rock band.
Childhood & Adolescence
On 24 October 1936, he was born William George Perks, Jr. in London, England, into a family of modest means to William Perks and his wife Molly.
He was one of four siblings. His bricklayer father struggled to make ends meet.
Bill Wyman developed an interest in music at a young age and was encouraged by his father. From the ages of ten to thirteen, he took piano lessons.
From 1947 to 1953, he attended Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School but left before the GCE exams.
Bill Wyman enlisted in the military and joined the British Royal Air Force in 1955. He was stationed in Germany, where he first encountered rock and roll. American Armed Forces Radio played songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino, which inspired him greatly.
Following his discharge, he returned to England with a rekindled passion for music. While honing his musical abilities, he also worked odd jobs to help pay the bills.
He began performing gigs in and around town and settled on the bass guitar as his instrument of choice. He chose the stage name Bill Wyman in honor of a friend when he began a professional career.
During this time period, he formed a band whose drummer was hired by the Rolling Stones. Bill was introduced to the band members by the drummer and was hired as the bassist in 1962.
The Rolling Stones lineup at the time of his arrival included Mick Jagger (vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Charlie Watts (drums), and Brian Jones (guitar).
In 1964, the band released its self-titled debut album, ‘The Rolling Stones.’ Along with the Beatles, the band was a part of the phenomenon known as the “British Invasion in America” in the 1960s.
Along with playing bass, Bill Wyman contributed backing vocals to early records and concerts. He sang lead on the album ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’ track ‘In Another Land’.
The Rolling Stones went on to achieve enormous success in the years that followed, with the release of popular albums such as ‘Beggars Banquet’ (1968), ‘Get Yer Ya-Out!’ Ya’s (1970), ‘Exile on Main St.’ (1972), and ‘Tattoo You’ (1973). (1981).
While Wyman achieved considerable success with the Rolling Stones, he was enraged by Jagger and Richards’ attempts to monopolize songwriting and production. As a result, he began pursuing solo endeavors in the 1970s, releasing his first solo album, ‘Monkey Grip,’ in 1974.
In the 1980s, he composed music for two films directed by Italian director Dario Argento: ‘Phenomena’ (1985) and ‘Terror at the Opera’ (1987). In 1987, he appeared in the film ‘Eat the Rich’ as a cameo.
He left the Rolling Stones in 1993 after 31 years with the band. He then formed the blues-rock band Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings in 1997, releasing its self-titled debut album ‘Struttin’ Our Stuff’ the following year. Despite his advanced years, he toured and performed frequently.
Bill Wyman is also the author of several books, including ‘Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’ (1990), ‘Rolling With the Stones’ (2002), and ‘The Stones: A Cartoon History’ (2004). (2006).
Significant Works of Bill
‘Some Girls’ by The Rolling Stones debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and became the band’s best-selling album in the United States. It was also a critical success, becoming the only Rolling Stones album to receive a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Another of Bill Wyman’s most popular collaborations with the Rolling Stones is the album ‘Tattoo You,’ which was a critical and commercial success upon its release, topping the Billboard charts. In the United States alone, it sold over four million copies.
Awards and Accomplishments
He is the recipient of Nordoff-Robbins’ Silver Clef Awards.
Personal History and Legacies
Bill Wyman is a three-time married man. He married Diane, with whom he has one son, for the first time in 1959. In 1969, the couple divorced.
Wyman married 18-year-old Mandy Smith in 1989, when he was 52 years old. Mindy was revealed to be underage at the time their relationship was sexually consummated, garnering widespread media attention. This marriage, like the previous one, ended in divorce.
In 1993, he married Suzanne Accosta. The couple is the parents of three daughters. In 2016, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Estimated Net Worth
Bill Wyman is a British musician, record producer, and songwriter who is worth an estimated $80 million. Wyman was the Rolling Stones’ bassist from 1962 to 1993, and in 1997, he formed the band Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. Additionally, Bill has produced films and records and composed scores for film and television productions.
Trivia
This former Rolling Stones member is said to have slept with more than 1,000 women.