Left to right: Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts,
Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood
December 19, 1989: When The Rolling Stones have the moral high ground over you, that is not a good sign.
In 1985, lead singer Mick Jagger released his 1st solo album, She's the Boss. In 1987, he released Primitive Cool. Neither did well. In 1988, lead guitarist Keith Richards, who isn't even as good a singer as Mick (Mick is one of the greatest frontmen in rock history, but not a good singer), released his 1st solo album, Talk Is Cheap. It did do well, proving that Mick needed Keith a lot more than the other way around.
So, with the Stones' eligibility for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame kicking in for 1989, and the band's reuniting for the certain induction ceremony, Mick ate crow, and got together with Keith to write new songs. The result was the album Steel Wheels, which produced "Mixed Emotions," which hit Number 5, and remains the last major hit for "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band."
And so, at the induction ceremony, the Stones announced the Steel Wheels Tour. Mick said, "You know, Americans are a funny people: First they arrest you, then they put you in a museum."
And so, for the last time with the lineup established in 1974, the Stones hit the road: Jagger, Richardson, rhythm guitarist Ron Wood, bass guitarist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. (Wyman left the group after the tour.) Chuck Leavell, formerly of The Allman Brothers Band, became their keyboard player and musical director in 1982. Bobby Keys became their touring saxophone player.
The tour hit mostly stadiums, including Shea Stadium in New York, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Coliseum, and the Oakland Coliseum to meet the San Francisco Bay Area market. Oddly, they didn't play in Chicago, the nation's 3rd-largest city. But they did play the top 3 cities in Canada: BC Place in Vancouver, the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and Exhibition Stadium and later the newly-opened SkyDome (now named the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
The oldest of the Stones was Wyman, 53; the youngest, Wood, 42. Already, jokes were being told about their age. Filling in for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, no spring chicken himself at 38, said, "You can tell which tour bus is the Stones': They leave their left blinker on." (Turn signal.)
The tour was scheduled to conclude on December 19, 1989, at Convention Hall (now named Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Producer Michael Cohl organized a pay-per-view broadcast of that concert. This event was expected to generate significant revenue. But it required a major financial backer.
New York real estate mogul Donald Trump agreed to shell out a huge sum. I used to think Trump was smart, because he put his 1st Atlantic City casino, Trump Plaza, between that city's two most famous buildings: Caesars Atlantic City (then as now, the best-known American casino-hotel outside Las Vegas) and Convention Hall. In the years to come, I came to the conclusion that, as they used to say on Match Game, Dumb Donald was so dumb (How dumb was he?), the idea had to be someone else's.
Trump's reputation for dishonesty in business -- as well as in his 1st marriage, to Ivana Zelníčková, which was then breaking up in the public eye -- was already well-known. And the Stones, with their history of drinking, drugs, debauchery, and leaving their native Britain to avoid high taxes, were reluctant to do business with him.
So Cohl contracted strict conditions: Trump was not allowed to publicly promote the show, he would not be allowed to attend the concert, and his name would not allowed to dominate the advertising.
When the band arrived at the Convention Hall, they were met with advertising posters that read, "Donald Trump presents The Rolling Stones." It seemed like shameless advertising at the band's expense, especially since the band's name was in small print.
An hour before the concert, the band was scheduled to broadcast live to major U.S. news channels. When producer Cohl entered the press room, he found Trump in the midst of his own press conference. Cohl asked Trump to leave, reminding him of his contract. Trump waved his arms at the crowd of American TV journalists who were actually waiting to hear The Rolling Stones, and replied, "But Michael, they begged me to come up here! They begged me!"
This was, like so many things Trump has said over the years, a flat-out lie. Upon learning of what was happening, Richards summoned Cohl to his dressing room. When Cohl arrived, Richards pulled out a knife, and jammed it into the table, yelling, "What the hell am I paying you for? Should I go and kick him out myself? It's him or us! If he doesn't leave, we're not going on stage!"
Cohl went to Trump, and gave him the band's demands. Trump went into his fake tough-guy act, saying the Stones weren't going anywhere, weren't leaving Atlantic City, and his security team would "beat the shit out of your whole band."
Did I mention that Dumb Donald was so dumb? Cohl called the tour's head of security. He immediately called out four dozen of the band's security men. They arrived with hockey sticks, screwdrivers, and tire irons. Trump and his entourage hurriedly left the building. I guess they forgot about what happened at Altamont, 20 years to the month earlier.
The concert went on, on time. The broadcast was perfect, and the Stones made all the money, just as planned.
In 2016, Donald Trump was "elected" President of the United States. Keith Richards said, "I warned America back in 1989!" Yes, he did.
*
December 19, 1989 was a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 10 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Utah Jazz, 115-107 at Madison Square Garden. Patrick Ewing scored 41 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. The Stones played The Garden many times, the 1st being on November 27, 1969, a Thanksgiving Night. Although they toured the United States before the old Garden closed in 1968, they never played there.
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Miami Heat, 100-98 at the Miami Arena. The Stones never played there.
* The Washington Wizards beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-99 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. The Stones played there several times, starting on their 1975 tour.
* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 102-97 at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Stones went on to play that arena on March 20, 1999. They played the previous building with the name, now named the Bojangles Coliseum, on November 15, 1965 and July 6, 1972.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-112 at The Omni in Atlanta. The Stones played there on July 30, 1975.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 94-77 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Stones went on to play there on February 22, 1999.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 93-83 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scored 37 points. The Stones played there on July 22, 23 and 24, 1975.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 95-86 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The Stones went on to play there on February 19, 1999 and September 8, 2005.
* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Indiana Pacers, 128-102 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Ron Harper scored 39 for the Clips, and Chuck Person 42 for the Pacers. The Stones played the Sports Arena early in their career, on December 5, 1965.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets, 119-100 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. The Stones played there on July 21, 1966.
And there were 6 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 5-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Former New York Ranger Don Maloney won the game for the Islanders, scoring the winning goal with 1:42 left in overtime. The Stones have never played a concert at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Stones played there a few times, including 2 shows on July 20, 1972, with Stevie Wonder as the opening act.
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. The Stones played there several times, including on their early tours in 1965 and 1966.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-0 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis
suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The Stones played there on June 18, 1972.
* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 9-5 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood,
California. The Stones played there many times, the first time on their 1969 tour.
* And the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. The Stones opened their 1972 tour there on June 3.
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