Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and one of the founders of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to play electric guitar, sing backing vocals and play a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones recordings and in concerts.
After he founded the Rolling Stones as a British blues outfit in 1962 and gave the band its name, Jones's fellow band members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger began to take over the band's musical direction, especially after they became a successful songwriting team.
When Jones developed alcohol and drug problems, his performance in the studio became increasingly unreliable, leading to a diminished role within the band. In June 1969, the Rolling Stones dismissed Jones; guitarist Mick Taylor took his place in the group. Less than a month later, Jones died by drowning at the age of 27 in the swimming pool at his home at Cotchford Farm, East Sussex. His death was referenced in songs by many other pop bands, and Pete Townshend and Jim Morrison wrote poems about it. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Rolling Stones.
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on Saturday, 28 February 1942. An attack of croup at the age of four left Jones with asthma that lasted for the rest of his life. His middle-class parents, Lewis Blount Jones and Louisa Beatrice Jones (née Simmonds), were of Welsh descent. Brian had two sisters: Pamela, who was born on 3 October 1943 and died on 14 October 1945 of leukaemia; and Barbara, who was born on 22 August 1946.
Jones attended local schools, including Dean Close School from September 1949 to July 1953; and Cheltenham Grammar School for Boys (now Pate's Grammar School), which he entered in September 1953 after passing the eleven-plus exam. He enjoyed badminton and diving at school and became first clarinet in the school orchestra. Jones reportedly obtained seven O-level passes in 1957, thence continuing into the sixth form and obtaining a further two O-levels. He passed A-levels in physics and chemistry, but he failed in biology.
Jones was able to perform well in exams despite a lack of academic effort. However, he found school regimented and disliked school uniforms and conformism in general; Jones himself said: "When I made the sixth form, I found myself accepted by the older boys; suddenly I was in." His hostility to authority figures resulted in his suspension from school on two occasions. According to Dick Hattrell, a childhood friend, "He was a rebel without a cause, but when examinations came he was brilliant."
Both Jones's parents were interested in music; his father was a piano teacher in addition to his job as an aeronautical engineer, and his mother played the piano and organ and led the choir at the local church. Jones listened to classical music as a child but preferred blues, particularly Elmore James and Robert Johnson. In 1957, he first heard Cannonball Adderley's music and took an interest in jazz. Jones persuaded his parents to buy him a saxophone, and two years later, his parents gave him his first acoustic guitar as a 17th birthday present. Jones began performing at local blues and jazz clubs while busking and working odd jobs. He reportedly stole small amounts of money from work to pay for cigarettes, for which he was sacked.
Jones's first child was born in 1958 to a female friend. The baby, of unknown sex, was given up for adoption and, in contrast to Jones's other children, has either not learned of the relationship to Jones, or has not publicly identified themselves as Jones's child.
In the summer of 1959, Jones's girlfriend – a Cheltenham schoolgirl named Valerie Corbett – became pregnant. Although Jones purportedly encouraged her to have an abortion, she carried the child to term, giving birth on 29 May 1960. She soon placed the baby for adoption. The adoptive parents renamed the boy. During this period, Jones lived a bohemian lifestyle abroad, busking with his guitar on the streets for money and living off the charity of others. Eventually, he ran short of money and returned to England.
In November 1959, Jones went to the Wooden Bridge Hotel in Guildford to see a band perform. He met a young married woman named Angeline, and they had a one-night stand that resulted in her pregnancy. Angeline and her husband decided to raise the baby, born on 4 August 1960. Jones never knew about the pregnancy or the birth.
In 1961, Jones applied for a scholarship to Cheltenham Art College. He was initially accepted, but the offer was withdrawn two days later after an unidentified acquaintance wrote to the college, calling Jones "an irresponsible drifter". Later that year, on 22 October, Jones's girlfriend Pat Andrews gave birth to his fourth known child, a son. Jones moved in with them and sold his record collection to buy flowers for Andrews and clothes for the newborn. In a television interview, Andrews stated that in the early days of their relationship, although she and Jones were both working, his interest in the guitar meant he did not have much money to buy food or anything beyond paying the rent. According to Andrews, Jones was initially proud of the son, but when the Rolling Stones acquired a manager, Jones was instructed not to be seen with either mother or child. Jones agreed she said, telling her she would have to "put up with it for a few months" until the band had had some success. However, once the Stones did become successful, she noted Jones "just seemed to drift away", becoming more interested in famous people he met, and that she "never received a penny from Brian at all". In the same interview, Andrews also noted she felt sorry for Jones as "he just uses people".
In early 1963, Jones began a relationship with Linda Lawrence. On 23 July 1964, Lawrence gave birth to Jones's fifth child. Later, after his mother's marriage to the Scottish folk/pop singer Donovan, the child was adopted by Donovan and his last name was changed to Leitch, Donovan's last name.
In early October 1964, Jones's occasional girlfriend Dawn Molloy announced to Jones and the Rolling Stones' management that she was pregnant by him. She received a cheque for £700 (equivalent to £11,864 in 2023) from group manager Andrew Loog Oldham. In return, she signed an agreement that the matter was now closed and that she would make no statement about Jones or the child to the public or the press. The undated statement was signed by Molloy and witnessed by Mick Jagger. Molloy eventually gave the boy up for adoption.
In 1965, Jones met German singer Nico and began a three-month relationship with her. Jones introduced Nico to Andy Warhol and recommended she show him her music; through this she later received her role in The Velvet Underground. She became pregnant during the affair but decided to have an abortion in London that same year. The two remained friends.
A year later, while on tour, Jones met Italian-German model and actress Anita Pallenberg backstage and began a significant relationship with her. Jones became extremely abusive, at one point breaking his hand on Pallenberg's face. In 1967, Pallenberg left Jones for his bandmate Keith Richards, which added to tensions between the bandmates.
Jones had subsequent relationships with English model Suki Potier and Swedish dancer Anna Wohlin (1946–2019), as well as a short relationship in 1968 with American model Donyale Luna, who appeared with him in the concert film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus several months before his death. Wohlin was living with Jones in 1969 when he died and has written two books about her time with him. Wohlin has stated that during his last year Jones had expressed immense guilt over not being there for his children. He wished to start over and become a "real father" and raise future children in the house he had bought. He also wished for his sons who had not been raised by adoptive parents to come and live in the house.