The Rolling Stones have had a long-standing relationship with the City of Toronto. When SARS threatened to decimate the city’s tourism, the Stones stepped up to anchor the benefit concert, “Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto,” or “SARSfest.” For many years, the tour promoter for Stones concerts worldwide was Canadian, Michael Cohl.
Going back to 1977, the Stones were in Toronto to play two nights at the El Mocambo night club (the Elmo to those who frequent the place), to be recorded for release on Love You Live. The Stones had reached the status as one of the biggest rock bands in the world. To make the gig at the small club possible without causing a mad fan rush, the band played under the pseudonym, the Cockroaches. It was during that stay in Toronto that Keith Richards was arrested for possession of heroin.
Love You Live is a double-disc release, put together from live recordings in Paris, London, Los Angeles and two shows in Toronto: Maple Leaf Gardens on June 17, 1975, and the Elmo on March 4 and 5, 1977. The album is predominantly Stones tunes. However, side three, from the Elmo show, is all blues.
When the Stones began in the early 1960s, they were heavily influenced by American blues. Included on side three is the Bo Diddley/Muddy Waters tune “Mannish Boy,” “ Cracking Up” by Diddley, Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” and “Around and Around” by Chuck Berry. There is only one other blues track of the 18 on the album, “You Gotta Move” from Fred McDowell and Rev. Gary Davis. The rest of the album is all Jagger/Richards compositions.
As the Stones became a big-venue rock band, the chances to play blues in an intimate setting became less frequent. The Stones chose the Elmo in Toronto for this recording to give the band an opportunity to relive their roots. The El Mocambo was very similar to the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond in southwest London, one of the haunts the band played back in 1963 on a weekly basis. Deep down inside, I guess the Rolling Stones are really just a blues bar-band.
CBC has some pretty cool archived radio interviews available online, including Jagger and Richards talking about the El Mocambo shows.
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