When Mick Taylor joined The Rolling Stones in 1969 following the departure of founding member Brian Jones, who died shortly afterwards, he had big shoes to fill. However, Taylor knew from the beginning that the band belonged to founding members Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, rather than him.
During his five-year stint with the band, Taylor helped the group return to form and kept them alive at a traumatic time which could have led to their demise. It was a challenging time for the band, but surviving this period was a testament to their strength and boded well for their future.
Additionally, from a technical perspective, Taylor’s arrival allowed The Rolling Stones to add another dimension to their sound and create some of their finest work.
Taylor played a vital role in Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St, Goats Head Soup, and It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll, further establishing The Rolling Stones’ position as one of the world’s most successful bands. However, if those albums didn’t land, the group’s trajectory would be unrecognisable, and they likely wouldn’t have achieved the legendary status they have today.
Although he contributed vastly to their recordings and injected his own stamp into their sound, he was only credited as a songwriter on a sole occasion during his active tenure with the group. The track in question is ‘Ventilator Blues’, which appeared on the band’s 1972 album Exile on Main St, which surprised Taylor.
The guitarist had become accustomed to not receiving his fair dues despite contributing to creating many songs, which were almost always credited to Jagger and Richards. However, he never made a fuss about this subject and understood this was expected as a member of The Rolling Stones, which was always their band rather than his.
He told Louder Sound in 2020: “‘Ventilator Blues‘ was a song that, to be honest, I didn’t expect to get any credit for. I probably had a lot more input on one or two of the other songs.”
Although it did frustrate him not to receive ample credit, it wasn’t why he chose to depart the band in 1974. He told Gary James in 1997: “I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs, but that wasn’t the whole reason [I left the band]. I guess I just felt like I had enough. I decided to leave and start a group with Jack Bruce. I never really felt, and I don’t know why, but I never felt I was gonna stay with the Stones forever, even right from the beginning.”
Decades after his exit from the group, Taylor unexpectedly received another credit when The Rolling Stones released ‘Criss Cross’ in 2020. The lost song was recorded during the Goats Head Soup but didn’t see the light of day until they decided to repackage the album and included it as a bonus track.
Listen to ‘Ventilator Blues’ and ‘Criss Cross’ below.
