Brian Jones Drowns: Rolling Stones Founder Dead at 27

Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool on July 3, 1969, less than a month after being ousted from the Rolling Stones, the band he had founded and named. Born Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones on February 28, 1942, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, he was a multi-instrumentalist who could pick up virtually any instrument and play it competently within hours. He founded the Rolling Stones in 1962, recruited Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, chose the band's name from a Muddy Waters song, and served as its first leader and driving creative force. In the early years, Jones was the most popular Stone. His blonde hair, androgynous beauty, and mastery of blues guitar made him the visual and musical center of the group. But as Jagger and Richards developed their songwriting partnership, Jones was increasingly marginalized. He contributed less to the band's recordings and more to its drug-related scandals. His multiple arrests for drug possession made touring internationally impossible, particularly travel to the United States. His playing deteriorated as his consumption of drugs and alcohol escalated. By 1969, the other members concluded he was a liability. On June 8, 1969, Jagger, Richards, and Charlie Watts visited Jones at his home, Cotchford Farm in East Sussex, the former home of A.A. Milne, and told him he was out. He was reportedly relieved. Three weeks later, he was found at the bottom of his swimming pool. The coroner recorded a verdict of "death by misadventure." Jones was 27. His death, followed by those of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison within the next two years, established the "27 Club" mythology. The Stones, without him, became the biggest touring band in rock history.