By Lindzrox
Jumpin’ jack newsflash on the mysterious death of Brian Jones, guitarist and a founding member of the Rolling Stones. Forty years later, British police have decided to re-open the case after reportedly receiving new information from an investigative journalist.
On July 3, 1969 Jones was found dead at the bottom of his pool at the Cotchford Farm, his home in East Sussex, which was previously owned by Winnie-the-Pooh author AA. Milne. Although friends and fans had always suspected foul play, the coroner’s report gave the official cause “death by misadventure.” Hmmm what exactly, does that mean? I had an idea, but just to be sure I looked it up:
Misadventure n. a death due to unintentional accident without any violation of law or criminal negligence. Thus, there is no crime.
What is a crime, is that a lot of people have forgotten that Brian Jones was a catalyst in the early days of the Rolling Stones, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. He came up with the name (taken from a Muddy Waters song), shaped their sound, helped give them a rock n’ roll reputation and added the flair, flash and danger that surely attributed to their super stardom.
Jones stood out from the crowd. In fact, he stood out from his band mates. His loves for the blues and signature slide guitar made him a pivotal part of their beginnings, but he was quickly overshadowed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard’s superior songwriting skills.
Drawn to drugs and alcohol, Jones was convicted twice on narcotics charges, avoiding jail by promising to quit his bad habits.
He left the band a month before his July 2, 1969, death and was replaced by Mick Taylor.
Two books have claimed that Jones was murdered by a London building contractor hired to help renovate Jones’ 11-acre Sussex estate.
- Paint it Black: The Murder of Brian Jones – by Geoffrey Giuliano and
- Who Killed Christopher Robin? – by Terry Rawlings,
Apparently, the builder, Frank Thorogood, confessed on his deathbed in November 1993 to killing Brian Jones. It will be interesting to see what this new evidence reveals about the case, and if in fact this was a true confession.
Hopefully, this fallen star or should I say stone, will get the attention and long-awaited justice that he deserves.