The Rolling Stones Replace Brian Jones with Mick Taylor

By the release of Beggars Banquet, Brian Jones was increasingly troubled and was only sporadically contributing to the band.

Jagger said that Jones was "not psychologically suited to this way of life". His drug use had become a hindrance, and he was unable to obtain a US visa. Richards reported that, in a June meeting with Jagger, Richards, and Watts at Jones's house, Jones admitted that he was unable to "go on the road again". According to Richards, all agreed to let Jones "...say I've left, and if I want to I can come back". His replacement was the 20-year-old guitarist Mick Taylor, of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, who started recording with the band immediately. On 3 July 1969, less than a month later, Jones drowned in the swimming pool at his Cotchford Farm home in Sussex.

Taylor toured the United States with the Bluesbreakers and appeared on such albums as Bare Wires and Blues From Laurel Canyon (both 1968). In 1969, he accepted the Rolling Stones' offer to replace the departing Brian Jones, who died later that year. The Stones had already established their reputation as one of rock's greatest bands and had just issued one of their best LPs, Beggar's Banquet (1968). But Taylor quickly added his imprint on the Stones' style and was present for the legendary concert tours, during their 1969–1974 heyday. He played on some of Let It Bleed (1969) and all of the live disc Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (1970).