The Rolling Stones is an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active… Read Full Bio ↴The Rolling Stones is an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. During their formative years, Jones was the primary leader: he assembled the band, named it, got them gigs, and drove their sound and image. After Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager in 1963, he encouraged them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the primary creative force behind the band, alienating Jones, who had developed a drug addiction that interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully.

Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing covers and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own material, as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965), and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international number-one hits. Aftermath (1966) – their first entirely original album – is considered by The Daily Telegraph to be the most important of their formative records. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. They returned to their rhythm and blues roots with hit songs such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums such as Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil", and Let It Bleed (1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter". Let It Bleed was the first of five consecutive number-one albums in the UK.

Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor. That year they were first introduced on stage as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". Sticky Fingers (1971), which yielded "Brown Sugar" and included the first usage of their tongue and lips logo, was their first of eight consecutive number-one studio albums in the US. Exile on Main St. (1972), featuring "Tumbling Dice", and Goats Head Soup (1973), yielding the hit ballad "Angie", were also best sellers. Taylor was replaced by Ron Wood in 1974. The band continued to release successful albums, including their two largest sellers: Some Girls (1978), featuring "Miss You", and Tattoo You (1981), featuring "Start Me Up". Steel Wheels (1989) was widely considered a comeback album and was followed by Voodoo Lounge (1994), a worldwide number-one album. Both releases were promoted by large stadium and arena tours, as the Stones continued to be a huge concert attraction; by 2007 they had recorded the all-time highest-grossing concert tour three times, and as recently as 2021 they were the highest-earning live act of the year. From Wyman's departure in 1993 to Watts' death in 2021, the band continued as a four-piece core, with Darryl Jones playing bass on tour and on most studio recordings, while Steve Jordan became their touring drummer following Watts' death. Their 2016 album, Blue & Lonesome, became their twelfth UK number-one album.

The Rolling Stones' estimated record sales of 200 million make them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The band has won three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Billboard magazine and Rolling Stone have ranked the band as one of the greatest of all time.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones

Studio albums
The Rolling Stones / England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)
12 X 5 (1964)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 / The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
December's Children (And Everybody's) (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)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
A Bigger Bang (2005)
Blue & Lonesome (2016)
Hackney Diamonds (2023)

The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, I'm waiting at the bus stop in downtown L.A.
Well, I'm waiting at the bus stop in downtown L.A.
But I'd much rather be on a boardwalk on Broadway

Well, I'm sitting here thinkin' just how sharp I am
Well, I'm sitting here thinkin' just how sharp I am
I'm an under assistant west coast promo man

Well, I promo groups when they come into town
Well, I promo groups when they come into town
Well they laugh at my toupee, they're sure to put me down

Well, I'm sitting here thinking just how sharp I am
Yeah, I'm sitting here thinking just how sharp I am
I'm a necessary talent behind every rock and roll band

Yeah, I'm sharp
I'm really, really sharp
I sure do earn my pay
Sitting on the beach every day, yeah
I'm real real sharp, yes I am
I got a Corvette and a seersucker suit
Yes, I have

Here comes the bus, uh oh
I though I had a dime
Where's my dime

I know I have a dime somewhere
I'm pretty sure

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones's song, The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man, reflects the life of a promotional agent in the rock and roll industry. The singer of the song is the titular "under assistant," who sits on a bus stop in downtown L.A. and laments his position. He wishes he was on Broadway, where the boardwalk is located, indicating the glamour and popularity of the Broadway strip. The singer realizes his worth in the industry and acknowledges that he is thinking about his sharpness. He describes himself as an under-assistant west coast promo man, responsible for promoting musical groups when they come into town. The groups mock him for his balding head, indicating that his work may not be respected by the musicians.

The singer claims that he is a necessary talent behind every rock and roll band, despite the ridicule he faces from some musicians. He claims to be really, really sharp and earns his pay. The song ends with the singer frantically searching for his dime as the bus pulls up, which indicates his position in society as a struggling lower-middle-class man.

Overall, "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" highlights the struggles and overlooked work of promotional agents in the music industry. It also comments on the importance of appearance in the industry and the divide between those who create the music and those who promote it.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, I'm waiting at the bus stop in downtown L.A.
I'm stuck waiting at the bus stop in Los Angeles.

But I'd much rather be on a boardwalk on Broadway
I'd rather be in a more exciting place like the boardwalk on Broadway.

Well, I'm sitting here thinkin' just how sharp I am
I'm thinking about how clever I am.

I'm an under assistant west coast promo man
I'm a low-level employee who promotes groups on the West Coast.

Well they laugh at my toupee, they're sure to put me down
People make fun of my toupee and look down on me because of my job.

I'm a necessary talent behind every rock and roll band
Despite being mocked, my work is crucial to the success of every rock and roll band.

I sure do earn my pay, Sitting on the beach every day, yeah
I work hard, but it's not a difficult job and I enjoy a leisurely lifestyle.

I'm real real sharp, yes I am, I got a Corvette and a seersucker suit
I'm successful and have a flashy car and fancy suit to prove it.

Here comes the bus, uh oh, I though I had a dime, Where's my dime, I know I have a dime somewhere, I'm pretty sure
I'm worried about missing my bus because I can't find my dime, but I'm confident it's somewhere in my possession.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Keith Richards, Michael Jagger, Phelge Nanker

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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