The Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas ’75 was a 1975 concert tour originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South America never solidified, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.
After the departure of Mick Taylor, this was the Rolling Stones’ first tour with new guitarist Ronnie Wood. Announced on April 14 as merely playing with the band on the tour, it would not be until December 19 that he would be officially named a Rolling Stone. Longtime sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price on brass were not featured on this tour, while Billy Preston had replaced Nicky Hopkins on keyboards in 1973. Additionally, Ollie E. Brown was added as an additional percussionist. Keys made a guest appearance on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Brown Sugar” at the Los Angeles shows.
The Tour of the Americas ’75 was not tied to support of any newly released material, as it began more than seven months after the release of their last studio album at the time, It’s Only Rock’n Roll. Instead, the compilation album Made in the Shade was released to capitalize on the tour’s publicity.
The announcement of the tour became famous in itself. On May 1, reporters were gathered inside the Fifth Avenue Hotel on 9th Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village to attend a press conference where the Stones were scheduled to appear. But the Stones never went into the hotel. Improvisational comedian “Professor” Irwin Corey gave a typically long-winded, nonsensical performance for journalists waiting for the Stones. The press was still listening to Corey ramble on when they finally noticed that the Stones were playing “Brown Sugar” on a flatbed truck driving down Fifth Avenue.
The tour officially began on June 3, 1975 at the Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas; however first the group played two warmup shows on June 1 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The tour continued, playing mostly arenas in the United States and Canada, including six consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden in New York and five nights at The Forum in Los Angeles. However, a planned Latin American leg in Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela for the balance of August was cancelled due to a combination of currency fluctuations and security concerns. Four additional US dates were then added, culminating in a final performance on August 8 at Rich Stadium near Buffalo, New York.
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