“Surfin’ Bird” could have been one of the most annoying and forgettable novelty tunes in the history of rock ‘n’ roll music. Instead, it became the No. 1 hit in Minnesota in early 1964, and made it to ...

Taj Mahal and Jackson Browne perform during The Music of The Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks 1964-1971 at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 13th, 2012.

So said Record Mirror’s Norman Jopling in May 1963 of the band which soon added a “g” to become The Rolling Stones. He went on to point out that “the number of R&B clubs that have [recently] sprung up ...