Bill Wyman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Wyman
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Wyman in 2020
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| Birth name | William George Perks |
| Born | 24 October 1936 Lewisham, London, England |
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William George Wyman (born William George Perks on 24 October 1936) is an English musician. He is best known as the bass guitarist for the famous rock band The Rolling Stones. He played with them from 1962 to 1993.
Bill Wyman was part of the band's first steady lineup. He performed on their first 19 albums. Since 1997, he has been the singer and bass guitarist for Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. In 1989, he joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Rolling Stones. Wyman also recorded with the Rolling Stones again in 2023.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Bill Wyman was born William George Perks in Lewisham Hospital in Lewisham, South London. His father, William George Perks, was a bricklayer, and his mother was Kathleen May "Molly" Perks. He was one of six children. He spent most of his early life in Penge, Southeast London. Wyman has said his childhood during wartime was "scarred by poverty." He lived through The Blitz, which was a bombing campaign.
Wyman went to Oakfield Primary School. He passed an important exam to get into Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School. He attended from 1947 to 1953. He left school early because his father found him a job working for a bookmaker.
In January 1955, Wyman joined the Royal Air Force for two years of national service. He was later sent to Oldenburg Air Base in North Germany. There, he heard early rock and roll music in dancehalls. He also listened to it on the American Forces Network after buying a radio. In August 1956, he bought a guitar. In 1957, he started a skiffle group with Casey Jones at the air base.
Musical Journey
Wyman took piano lessons when he was 10 until he was 13. A year after marrying Diane Cory in 1959, he bought an electric guitar. He paid £52 for a Burns electric guitar. But he wasn't happy with how he was learning. He decided to switch to bass guitar after hearing one at a concert.
He made his own fretless electric bass guitar. He did this by taking off the frets from a used Dallas Tuxedo bass. He played this bass in a band called the Cliftons in 1961. In August 1964, he officially changed his last name to Wyman. He took the name from a friend, Lee Whyman, from his time in the Royal Air Force.
Joining The Rolling Stones
A drummer named Tony Chapman told Wyman that a rhythm and blues band, the Rolling Stones, needed a bass player. Wyman tried out for the band on 7 December 1962. He was hired to replace Dick Taylor. The band was very impressed by his bass and amplifiers. Wyman had even changed one of his amplifiers himself. He was the oldest member of the group.
Besides playing bass, Wyman often sang backing vocals on early records. He also sang backing vocals in concerts until 1967. He wrote and sang the song "In Another Land" from the album Their Satanic Majesties Request. This song was released as a single and was only credited to Wyman. It was his first official solo single. He also wrote "Downtown Suzie," which was sung by Mick Jagger. This song appeared on Metamorphosis, an album of Rolling Stones outtakes.
Wyman was good friends with Brian Jones. They often shared rooms on tour and went to clubs together. Wyman was very upset when he heard about Jones's death. He was one of only two band members, along with Charlie Watts, who went to Jones's funeral in July 1969. Wyman was also friends with guitarist Mick Taylor. He has worked with Taylor since Taylor left the band in 1974.
Wyman has kept a journal his whole life, starting when he was a child. He used these journals to write his 1990 book Stone Alone and his 2002 book Rolling with the Stones. In Stone Alone, Wyman says he helped create the main guitar part for "Jumpin' Jack Flash" with Brian Jones and drummer Charlie Watts. He also mentioned that the song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released as a single only after a band vote. Wyman, Watts, and Jones voted for it, while Jagger and Keith Richards voted against it.
Wyman also played on other albums. These included The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions in 1971. He played with Howlin' Wolf, Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts, and Stevie Winwood. He also played on Jamming with Edward! in 1972. This album featured Ry Cooder, Nicky Hopkins, Jagger, and Watts.
In July 1981, Wyman's solo song "(Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star" became a top-20 hit in many countries. In 1981, Wyman also created the music for the movie Green Ice. In the mid-1980s, he wrote music for two films by Italian director Dario Argento: Phenomena (1985) and Opera (1987).
In 1983, Wyman helped organize a concert tour to raise money for Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis. The group was called Willie and the Poor Boys. They played shows in the U.S. and the UK. Many guest musicians joined them, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. This effort was inspired by Wyman's friend, Ronnie Lane. The group released an album with the same name.
Wyman had a small role in the 1987 movie Eat the Rich. He also produced and played on some albums for the group Tucky Buzzard.
After the Rolling Stones' 1989–90 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tours, Wyman left the band in January 1993. The Rolling Stones have continued to record and tour with Darryl Jones on bass. However, Darryl Jones is not an official member of the band.
Later Music Activities
Wyman started the band Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings in 1997. This band often had different musicians playing with them. They performed blues, soul, rock 'n' roll, jazz, and sometimes Rolling Stones songs. Wyman usually didn't sing lead vocals. But he often sang lead on the Chuck Berry song "You Never Can Tell" and the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women".
Wyman was a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards. This helped support independent artists.
On 25 October 2009, Wyman played a reunion show with Faces. He filled in for the late Ronnie Lane, just as he had done in 1986 and 1993.
In 2012, Wyman and Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones on stage for some shows. These included concerts in London and Newark. Darryl Jones played bass for most of the show. At the London shows, Wyman played on two songs: "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" and "Honky Tonk Women". He later said he was not interested in joining the band for more tours.
Wyman was part of a 2019 documentary called The Quiet One. This film was about his life and career.
Wyman briefly returned to recording with the Rolling Stones in 2023. He played bass on one song, "Live By the Sword," on their album Hackney Diamonds. This was the first time he had been on a Rolling Stones studio recording since 1991.
On 9 August 2024, Wyman released his ninth solo album, Drive My Car.
Musical Instruments and Sound
Wyman's bass sound came from his 30-inch short-scale fretless bass. This was a modified Dallas Tuxedo bass. His sound also came from his "walking bass" style. He was inspired by musicians like Willie Dixon and Ricky Fenson.
Wyman has played many different basses. Most of them were short scale. These included a Framus Star bass, a Vox Teardrop bass, and a Fender Mustang Bass. He also used two Ampeg Dan Armstrong basses, a Gibson EB-3, and a Travis Bean bass. Since the late 1980s, Wyman has mostly played Steinberger basses.
In 2011, The Bass Centre in London released the Wyman Bass. This was a fretted version of Wyman's first "homemade" fretless bass. Wyman himself played and supported it. In 2020, one of Wyman's basses, his 1969 Fender Mustang Bass, sold for $380,000 at an auction. At that time, it was the highest price ever paid for a bass guitar.
Personal Life and Hobbies
Wyman married his first wife, Diane Cory, in 1959. They had a son born on 29 March 1962. They separated in 1967 and divorced in 1969.
In April 1993, Wyman married model Suzanne Accosta. They first met in 1980 and remained friends before their relationship grew. The couple has three daughters.
In 1968, Wyman bought Gedding Hall, a country home in Suffolk. This house dates back to 1458. Wyman also lives in St Paul de Vence in the South of France. Many artists are his friends there.
He loves cricket and admired Denis Compton. He played in a celebrity cricket match and even got a hat-trick. He is a lifelong fan of Crystal Palace F.C., a football team. He went to his first match as a birthday gift with his father. During a Rolling Stones tour in 1990, he pretended to have a toothache to go watch Crystal Palace play. Around this time, he also developed a fear of flying.
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Wyman started selling metal detectors in 2007. His adventures finding treasure in the British Isles are in his 2005 book, Treasure Islands. He wrote this book with Richard Havers.
In 2009, Wyman stopped smoking after 55 years.
Wyman is also a photographer. He has taken photos throughout his career. In June 2010, he had an exhibition of his work in St Paul de Vence. The exhibition included pictures of his musician and artist friends from the South of France. In 2013, the Rook & Raven Gallery in London showed some of Wyman's images. These had been changed by artists like Gerald Scarfe.
In March 2016, Wyman was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was expected to make a full recovery.
Discography
Albums
Studio Albums
- Jamming with Edward! (January 1972) (with Ry Cooder, Nicky Hopkins, Mick Jagger, and Charlie Watts)
- Monkey Grip (May 1974)
- Stone Alone (March 1976)
- Green Ice (soundtrack) (1981)
- Bill Wyman (April 1982)
- Willie and The Poor Boys (May 1985) (with Mickey Gee, Andy Fairweather-Low, Geraint Watkins, and Charlie Watts)
- Stuff (October 1992)
- Back to Basics (June 2015)
- Drive My Car (August 2024)
Compilation Albums
- Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey (2002)
- A Stone Alone: The Solo Anthology 1974–2002 (2002)
Singles
- "In Another Land" (December 1967)
- "Monkey Grip Glue" (June 1974)
- "White Lightnin'" (September 1974)
- "A Quarter to Three" (April 1976)
- "If You Wanna Be Happy" (1976)
- "Apache Woman" (1976)
- "(Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star" (July 1981)
- "Visions" (1982)
- "Come Back Suzanne" (March 1982)
- "A New Fashion" (March 1982)
- "Baby Please Don't Go" (June 1985)
- "What & How & If & When & Why" (June 2015)
Other Music Appearances
Soundtrack Contributions
- "Valley", for Phenomena (1985)
- "Opera Theme" and "Black Notes", for Opera (1987) (with Terry Taylor)
Guest Appearances
- I Can Tell (1967) (John Hammond, Jr.)
- The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1971)
- Manassas (1972)
- Jamming with Edward! (1972)
- Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite (1982, recorded live 1974) (Buddy Guy & Junior Wells)
With Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
- Struttin' Our Stuff (October 1997)
- Anyway the Wind Blows (October 1998)
- Groovin' (May 2000)
- Double Bill (May 2001)
- Just for a Thrill (May 2004)
With The Rolling Stones
- The Rolling Stones / England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)
- The Rolling Stones No. 2 / The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965)
- Out of Our Heads (1965)
- Aftermath (1966)
- Between the Buttons (1967)
- Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
- Beggars Banquet (1968)
- Let It Bleed (1969)
- Sticky Fingers (1971)
- Exile on Main St. (1972)
- Goats Head Soup (1973)
- It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
- Black and Blue (1976)
- Some Girls (1978)
- Emotional Rescue (1980)
- Tattoo You (1981)
- Undercover (1983)
- Dirty Work (1986)
- Steel Wheels (1989)
- Hackney Diamonds (2023)
See also
In Spanish: Bill Wyman para niños
