Bill Wyman Biography Quotes 27 Report mistakes

Early Life and Background
Bill Wyman was born William George Perks on October 24, 1936, in Lewisham, London, England. Growing up during wartime Britain gave him an early sense of resilience and self-reliance. He gravitated to music as a teenager, first experimenting with piano and guitar before turning to bass, an instrument whose feel and function suited his temperament. Early work and national service gave him practical grounding, while evenings were spent learning the fundamentals of rhythm and blues. Seeking a name that felt right for a life in music, he adopted the professional surname Wyman early in his career and later made it official.

Joining The Rolling Stones
Wyman entered London's burgeoning R&B scene just as a new generation of players was pushing American blues into British clubs. In late 1962 he auditioned for the Rolling Stones, then coalescing under the drive of Brian Jones and featuring Mick Jagger and Keith Richards at the front, with pianist Ian Stewart providing musical ballast and, soon, Charlie Watts on drums. Wyman's solid time, reliable equipment, and unflappable demeanor made an immediate impression. He became the band's bassist as they shifted from club residencies to recording sessions, guided by young manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Through the 1960s and 1970s he anchored the group across a run of defining records, working with key producers and engineers such as Jimmy Miller and Glyn Johns and sharing studios with consummate sidemen like Nicky Hopkins.

Musical Style and Contributions
Wyman's bass playing favored economy over flash. His lines, concise and melodic, locked with Charlie Watts to create a supple, unshakeable pocket that allowed Jagger and Richards to stretch without losing the song's center. He was adept at shaping a feel with just a few notes, contributing memorable grooves to some of the band's most enduring tracks. While songwriting in the Rolling Stones largely centered on Jagger and Richards, Wyman occasionally stepped forward as a composer and singer; his 1967 song In Another Land offered a rare glimpse of his voice at the front of a Stones record. He also contributed material later compiled on archival releases, underscoring his breadth beyond the bass role. Onstage he was understated, focusing on time, tone, and arrangement, and in the studio he was prized for precision and a producer's ear.

Life Within a Legendary Band
From the first singles through the era of albums like Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St., Wyman was part of the ensemble that transformed the group into a global force. The lineup evolved as Brian Jones departed and Mick Taylor and later Ronnie Wood came in on guitar, but Wyman's partnership with Watts gave the band continuity. Tours grew larger, the music more varied, and the recording process more exacting. Behind the scenes, Wyman kept meticulous diaries that later informed his writings, offering a rare, detailed perspective on the pressures and camaraderie of a band reshaping rock and roll.

Solo Work and Collaborations
Alongside his work with the Rolling Stones, Wyman pursued solo projects that highlighted his songwriting and taste for American roots music. He released albums under his own name in the 1970s and 1980s, exploring grooves and textures that did not always fit the band's framework. After leaving the Rolling Stones in the early 1990s, he formed Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, a flexible, good-humored ensemble dedicated to rhythm and blues, early rock and roll, and soul. The group featured seasoned players, including Georgie Fame, Gary Brooker, and Albert Lee, and prioritized feel and musicianship over spectacle. They toured widely, released a string of recordings, and demonstrated Wyman's commitment to songcraft and ensemble interplay. He made brief guest appearances with his old band during their 50th anniversary concerts in London in 2012, a nod to shared history rather than a full-time return.

Writing, Photography, and Other Ventures
Wyman's rigor as a documentarian set him apart. He authored Stone Alone and Rolling with the Stones, substantial works built from his diaries and archives that capture the band's day-to-day reality, studio work, and cultural impact. He also published a blues history that reflected his deep respect for the American artists who inspired him. Beyond music and writing, he pursued photography, with exhibitions that revealed a quiet eye for detail and atmosphere. A long-standing enthusiast of local history and archaeology, he devoted time to fieldwork and public outreach. In business, he founded the London restaurant Sticky Fingers, a tribute to the band's heritage and to the American cuisine and music that shaped his aesthetic.

Personal Life
Wyman's personal life occasionally drew public scrutiny, particularly a highly publicized brief marriage in the late 1980s that became the subject of tabloid attention. He later settled into a stable family life after marrying Suzanne Accosta in the 1990s, and they have children together. He has generally preferred privacy, letting his work speak more loudly than his celebrity. In 2016 he disclosed a prostate cancer diagnosis and indicated that treatment was progressing well, prompting messages of support from colleagues and fans alike.

Recognition and Legacy
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Rolling Stones, Wyman is widely regarded as one of rock's most reliable and musical bassists. His partnership with Charlie Watts is a benchmark in rhythm-section telepathy: discreet, deeply felt, and essential. For fellow bass players, his approach demonstrates how touch, restraint, and placement can define a band's sound as surely as any guitar riff or lyric. For historians, his diaries and books provide a primary-source record of the band's internal dynamics and the broader evolution of the music business. And for listeners, his body of work, from stadium anthems to small-stage R&B, offers a through-line from postwar blues to modern rock.

Ongoing Work
Even after stepping away from the relentless pace of stadium touring, Wyman continued recording, performing select shows with the Rhythm Kings, exhibiting photographs, and supporting cultural and charitable projects. He has remained a thoughtful custodian of musical heritage while still seeking the simple pleasure that first drew him to the bass: the satisfaction of finding the right note, in the right place, at the right time.

Our collection contains 27 quotes who is written by Bill, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Art - Music - Life - Moving On.

Other people realated to Bill: Mick Jagger (Musician), Keith Richards (Musician), Charlie Watts (Musician), Mick Taylor (Musician), Madeleine Peyroux (Musician)