Why Mick Taylor Left The Rolling Stones

Mick Taylor gave the Stones the best years they ever had

The albums made during the Mick Taylor years speaks for itself. The Stones at their best!

The best Stones guitarist by far.

The Taylor period is peak Stones. They produced some brilliant stuff before and great stuff afterwards, but when Mick Taylor was in the band they were sublime.

Mick was a Classic Guitar Player and the albums with Mick on them were the best.

Mick Taylor was Gold for the Stones the years he was there. My favorite period of their existence.

Mick Taylor is one of many understated guitar player's of that time, so it's nice to see him getting the the kudos he rightly deserves.

I was lucky to see the Stones with Mick Taylor about 71-72. They played Sympathy for the Devil, and the best songs from their most recent two or three albums. Taylor was on the side of the stage closest to me, and I had a good close seat. He made the sound glow, really, and solidified the band while Mick marched up and down the stage. I was mesmerized and astounded, couldn't quit smiling for a week after, and it was all Mick Taylor for me.

In my opinion Taylor is the best guitarist that the Stones ever had

Lawyer here. Can’t believe Mick didn’t get legal advice. Naturally the correct legal position is determined by the specific wording of the relevant contracts, but just because the Stones changed labels doesn’t mean any previous contractual obligations to pay Mick are invalidated. I hope he finally got his due.

On his last years Charlie Watts said it: EVERYONE OF US WAS INVOLVED IN COMPOSITING ALL THE SONGS. You can see the composition talent behin Bill Wyman hearing his solo albums (they are a lot) so the whole musicians deserve credit for what they did.

If Mick Taylor was so good for the Stones as Jagger says why did he swindle him out out of his royalties around 1982? Taylor did so much for the history and popularity of the Stones.

"Time waits for No One" has always been my fav Stones song.

We just have to be thankful for those years. With MT in the studio, the Stones made maybe their best albums, and on stage never rocked harder.

I credit Mick Taylor for keeping the band from falling apart completely. Almost any song from his time, Taylor is the glue that makes it work. I particularly love the song Winter, without his brilliant guitar, we probably would have never heard the song, and there are lots of other examples. He is definitely the most talented person to every play with the band and is criminally underappreciated. Charlie and Bill deserve some credit too for being a solid rhythm section during those years when Keith was messed up and Jagger was becoming a schtick on an ego trip. Taylor elevated the band and kept it relevant when they needed it the most.

Very nicely done. I loved Mick Taylor's playing.

For this Stones fan, "Time Waits For No One", one of the songs Mick Taylor co-wrote with Jagger seems like the perfect song that sums up how Taylor must've felt before he decided to leave the band.

One of the best examples showing that the Stones were at their peak with Mick Taylor is their live 1971 performance of “Dead Flowers” at the Marquee Club.

Yep! Can you imagine all those juicy guitar and slide licks we've all missed out on since he left the stones!

While I think The Stones were in their zenith in the Jones era, Taylor’s guitar playing is legendary. He was probably the only thing that could’ve saved them from Brian’s death at the time because of his virtuoso playing. Too bad they didn’t give him credit where he deserved, guess they didn’t learn their lesson with Brian.