We’d be hard pressed to compete with Jagger’s swagger. He can shake it like nobodies business and now he a dad again, at age 73.
Mick Jagger’s representatives say Rolling Stone’s frontman has welcomed the birth of his eighth child, according to AP reports. Jagger was on hand Thursday at a New York hospital when girlfriend, 29-year-old ballerina Melanie Hamrick, gave birth to the couple’s new son son.
According to a statement, both parents are “delighted”! Mick Jagger has children ranging in age from their 40s to teenagers. He is also a grandfather of two children and a great-grandfather of one, who’s about two and a half years older than her new great-uncle.
Born Michael Phillip Jagger on July 26, 1943, in Dartford, England, Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, has become a rock legend, delighting fans for more than four decades. Leaving the London School of Economics to start a band with Keith Richards, Jagger took the Rolling Stones to the top of the music world with major hits like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Angie” and “Miss You,” propelling the band and himself to a status unknown by most performers.
As a teenager, Jagger started collecting blues records from the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He and his friend Dick Taylor soon started a band together called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with Jagger as its singer.
In 1960, Jagger was accepted to the London School of Economics. He lived at home and commuted into the city to attend classes. Also working on his band, Jagger soon added a new member, guitarist Keith Richards. The two had known each other growing up in Dartford. Exploring London’s emerging blues scene together, Jagger and Richards spent some time at the Ealing Club. There they saw Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated play and were wowed by guitarist Brian Jones, who made guest appearances with the group. After a while, Jagger also appeared as a guest vocalist with Blues Incorporated.
Jagger, Richards and Taylor soon joined up with Jones, who wanted to start his own group. Pianist Ian Stewart was also an early member of what would become the Rolling Stones. By 1963, Charlie Watts had joined the band as its drummer and Taylor departed, replaced by Bill Wyman. Stewart, however, stayed on to serve as road manager, as well as playing and recording with the band. Under the direction of their manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones were marketed as a group of wild and rough rockers. The group’s wild style helped them land a deal with Decca Records. Jagger was a key ingredient in the band’s growing success, attracting audiences with his stage antics and sex appeal.
In 1967, Jagger’s personal life made headlines. He and his girlfriend, singer Marianne Faithfull, were among those arrested during a police raid of Richards’s country home in England. During their search, police officers found drug paraphernalia and illegal substances. Both Jagger and Richards were tried and convicted for drug-related offenses, but their sentences were dropped on appeal. Two years later, Jagger and Faithfull were arrested for drug possession after authorities raided Jagger’s London home.
By the end of the decade, Jagger and the rest of the band were enjoying huge success. Beggars Banquet was released in 1968 and featured a straightforward rock style. One of its singles, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” hit the No. 1 spot on the U.K. charts and reached the top 5 in the U.S.
It seems as if those partying ways are now behind him and Jagger has become quite the family man.
