BEHIND THE SCENES

On the Stones’ previous U.S. tours in 1965-66, 1967, and 1969, Marshall photographed them at locations throughout Northern California, including the infamous concert at Altamont. He was selected to cover the 1972 tour for Life, a prestigious and remarkably mainstream assignment that was a coup both for the Stones and for Marshall himself. The PR team of Gibson-Stromberg targeted features in Life, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, and Rolling Stone—Jim was given one week on the tour, from June 6 through June 13, to get his shots. The July 14 issue, with Marshall’s image of Jagger on the cover and nine additional photographs inside, was released as the tour proceeded east; the final concerts took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City July 24-26.

Marshall was present for the California leg—the Winterland in San Francisco, the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, the Pacific Terrace Center in Long Beach, the Forum in Los Angeles, and the International Sports Arena in San Diego—of a tour that spanned about forty venues in two months. In over ten locations, including the Winterland and the Forum, the Stones played two sets in one day and were frequently unable to leave the location in between due to security concerns.

Though this tour is legendary for its raucous, at times unbelievable offstage behavior, something else is documented here—the camaraderie formed through hours spent waiting in antiseptic greenrooms as a brief calm before the storm of performance; conversations to fill the hours of lounging, waiting to take the stage; the availability of food and, more importantly, liquor; and the lonely, less-glamorous reality of long hours traveling to a location for a brief but powerful ninety minutes in front of the fans. In less than one week, Marshall captured this reality through images both of and beyond their time.—MDM

Keith Richards displaying a gift while on the flight from Los Angeles to San Diego.

Charlie Watts at the airport, San Francisco, California.

Joan Kooper, ex-wife of musician Al Kooper, was traveling on the tour with Stones keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. She is shown here with Stones bassist Bill Wyman at the airport, San Francisco, California.

Fans spent hours waiting in line for the afternoon show at the Winterland, San Francisco, California.

Private security was hired to assist with crowd control outside the Winterland.

The Western Addition neighborhood around the Winterland, San Francisco, California.

Mick Taylor; his wife, Rose; Mick Jagger; Charlie Watts; and Bill Wyman backstage.

Steve Goekee, makeup artist for the tour, prepares Charlie Watts for the stage.

Charlie Watts.

Richards’s “Coke” logo was not simply a reference to the carbonated beverage.

Richards and Jagger backstage.

Keith Richards.

Keith Richards tuning backstage.

The Micks—Jagger and Taylor.

Keith Richards applying makeup backstage at the Winterland, San Francisco, California.

Steve Goekee adjusts accessories to Jagger’s outfit backstage.

Guitar technician Newman Jones watches Mick Taylor and Keith Richards tune up backstage.

Mick Jagger at the private airport terminal in Los Angeles, California.

Boarding the Stones’ private jet to head from Los Angeles to San Diego.

Jagger reading over bassist Bill Wyman’s shoulder on the plane.

Photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank in conversation with Jagger, who hired him to document the tour. The resulting film, Cocksucker Blues, was never approved for public release, though Frank reserved the right to screen the film if he was present. Frank’s photographs were used on the album cover for Exile on Main Street, which was designed by John Van Hammersveld and Norman Seeff.

While Bill Wyman plays with one of Robert Frank’s Super 8 cameras, Jagger settles in for the short ride between Los Angeles and San Diego. Frank encouraged the band to use his Super 8 cameras to get them comfortable with filming and being filmed.

Jagger experiments with one of Frank’s Super 8 cameras in the loading area of the Forum, Los Angeles, California. Jagger had already appeared in two to three movies as an actor, and was interested in the filmmaking process.

Keith Richards with Jolie Jones, daughter of musician and producer Quincy Jones, backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California.

Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records co-founder, with a friend, backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California. Atlantic was responsible for distribution of the newly-formed and independent Rolling Stone Records, headed up by Marshall Chess.

Robert Frank, also backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California.

Bill Wyman enjoying a cocktail, backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California. Photographer Ken Regan is seen behind Wyman.

In mirror, tour manager Peter Rudge stands behind Jagger and others; Robert Frank in conversation with Charlie Watts backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California.

Robert Frank at work as Keith Richards greets a friend.

Backstage at the Forum, Los Angeles, California. Due to logistics and security concerns, the Stones stayed at the venue between the afternoon and evening shows on June 11.