#art, #music, Thursdays Music: A Rocker That Paints

Today I am featuring Ronnie Wood. You do know him, right? He plays guitar. But in case you did not know, I will tell you that he is 76 years old and still rocking (since 1975) with what many people think is the bloody best Rock and Roll band in the world, The Rolling Stones. But he also paints and the man is not that bad at it as you will see.

Ronnie is a Gemini born June 1, 1947 in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England. He played guitar with The Faces, fellow bandmate was Rod Stewart, later with The Jeff Beck Group. He actually began with The Birds back in 1964. Wood recorded his first solo LP «I’ve Got My Own Album to Do» in 1974 with a little help from his friends George Harrison and Keith Richards. It was Richards that later invited him to replace Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood has since that day been a permanent member of The Rolling Stones.

But as it turns out Wood has been an «artist» since he was a lad. He studied art at Ealing Art College. Will it surprise you to know that musicians the likes of Freddie Mercury and Pete Townshend also attended the same school during the 1960’s? Well, they did. Ronnie Wood created the cover art for Eric Clapton’s album Crossroads in 1988.

Wood has also published three books. One is a collection of anecdotes titled «The Works» with his own illustrations, co-authored with Bill German and published in 1988. The second one is an art book titled «Wood on Canvas: Every Picture Tells a Story» (1998). And the third one is his autobiography of 2007, co-authored with Jack MacDonald and Jeffrey Robinson.

I hope you enjoy his music and his artwork…