Why did Mick Taylor leave The Rolling Stones?
While The Rolling Stones have seen several members come and go over the years, one of the most storied and enigmatic figures is Mick Taylor.
Joining the band in 1969 following Brian Jones’ departure, Taylor played with the Stones until 1974, contributing to some of their most iconic albums, including Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St. However, the reasons behind his departure—which happened with more of a whimper than a bang—have long been the subject of much debate.
With so many members of the band and those connected to them, opinions on what led to Taylor’s exit vary widely. According to the rest of the Stones, his departure caught them by surprise, coming at the last minute before they were set to head to Munich to begin work on Black and Blue. Over the years, however, it has become apparent that a mix of factors contributed to his decision: creative frustrations with Keith Richards, the lack of songwriting credits, an increasingly fraught drug habit, and the chaotic backdrop of a band struggling under the weight of hard living all played a role in his gloomy departure.
Although after the news was broken that he was leaving in December 1974, Taylor issued a statement saying it was time to move on and he had nothing but respect for the band, in 2009, he offered a different view.
In the book Rolling Stones FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Bad Boys of Rock, he explains: “By 1974, I felt I’d gone as far as I could with the band. I didn’t think they’d stay together. The records were doing well but the band was falling apart—it was in chaos…I told the Stones’ office I was leaving, they asked for my gold Amex card. Mick [Jagger] tried to persuade me to stay, but I told him I was fed up and how my drug problems were beginning to worry me. Mick suggested taking six months off, but I’ve never been good at taking advice. Maybe I should have listened.”
So what actually happened?
According to the veteran Rolling Stones producer and engineer, Glyn Johns, the main factor in Taylor’s departure was the severe change in the character of the guitarist due to him being a junkie.
While everyone is aware of his talent, with Slash calling him the best The Rolling Stones ever had, it became clear to Johns that Taylor’s time would be brief during the madcap sessions for Exile on Main Street in France in 1971. This was a period when the effects of the band’s lifestyle started to take its toll.
“He turned from from being a quiet, softly spoken, charming young man into a raving egomaniac junkie,” Johns told Mojo in 2015. “I was mixing the record… and said to Mick Jagger, ‘Either he goes or I go.’”
Johns explained that frontman Jagger asked him to work on the recordings for the album in London after the sessions at Villa Nellcôte “had run riot, and people were allowed to do whatever they wanted”.
The producer did as he was instructed at Basing Street Studios. When there, he worked on a track where Taylor had overdubbed backing vocals, drums and a bass. Johns removed them, and when Taylor asked why, he told him: “The Rolling Stones have a fucking great drummer and a really great bass player. You, sunshine, play the guitar and you’ll hear it rather nicely when I’ve finished this.”
Jagger was then forced to ask Taylor to leave the studio to finish mixing. This was a sign of things to come, and he left the band three years later.
