Brian Jones’ legal woes and personal chaos that made the Stones leave him behind

By 1967, Brian Jones was carrying more baggage than the rest of the Stones combined. He had fathered at least five children with four different women—none of them married—and the child support payments were bleeding him dry. Then came the drug busts: first in February 1967, then again in May 1968, each time making headlines and slowing down the band’s touring ability because Jones couldn’t get a visa. The final legal blow was an assault charge in late 1968 after he allegedly beat up his girlfriend Anita Pallenberg (who later left him for Keith Richards).

All of this turned Jones into a liability. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were already taking over the songwriting, and Jones’ multi-instrumentalist contributions were becoming erratic—he’d show up late, nod off in sessions, or just not show up at all. The band started recording without him, most notably on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and much of Beggars Banquet. By June 1969, the Stones officially fired him, telling him his playing wasn’t up to par and his personal problems made him unreliable. Less than a month later, he was found dead in his swimming pool. The isolation wasn’t sudden—it had been building for two years as every part of his personal life made him harder to work with.