The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood reveals his biggest regret
British rock legend Ronnie Wood is now the third-longest member of The Rolling Stones, but the group is only part of his story. Before he joined the quintessential rockers in 1976, Wood initially found his footing as a guitarist in the Jeff Beck Group before forming the Small Faces offshoot with Rod Steward front and centre, Faces.
Wood idolised the Stones in the mid-1960s as he made his own route to distinction in the London rock scene. In the early ’70s, he became a close friend of the band and even co-wrote the title track for It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger before he replaced Mick Taylor in 1975 as a touring member. After passing his probation period, Wood was officially inducted as an official Stone a year later amid the release of Black and Blue.
The guitarist’s illustrious career has seen him work with some of the biggest names in music on both sides of the Atlantic, and one can safely wager his regrets are few. However, reflecting on his rollercoaster six-decade run, Wood has expressed remorse over his loss of memory.
As a rock ‘n’ roll star, Wood inevitably enjoyed a fair few years of excessive drinking that undoubtedly impaired his memory. While he doesn’t regret the hedonism, Wood wishes he could remember the faces of the multiple girlfriends who have come and gone over the years.
“One regret I have, going back through this diary, is that I can’t remember what a lot of my girlfriends looked like years ago,” Wood told NME in 2015. “I don’t regret the drinking. I drank for Britain until I got sober five years ago. That was a learning curve I had to go through – but not remembering the wonderful girls is a regret.”
Wood’s memoir, published in 2015, helped him remember ancient nights out with the likes of comedian Sid James and soul singer Wilson Pickett. “‘In The Midnight Hour’ [by Pickett] was the biggest record there was for me,” Wood recalled. “But I’d forgotten all about our adventure together until I picked up the diary.”
Later in the same interview with NME, Wood reflected on his hustle to earn an official place in The Rolling Stones. “I was going to be in that band one way or another, and I would broadcast the fact,” Wood proudly recalled. “I thought it looked like a good job – and it turns out that it is. It goes to show you can set your sights on something and get it if you think big and put in the work.”
Watch Ronnie Wood perform live with The Rolling Stones for the first time below. The show occurred in New York City on May 1st, 1975, with the band playing from the back of a moving flatbed truck to promote Tour of the Americas, which kicked off a month later in Baton Rouge.
