It was 43 years ago this Sunday (December 11th, 1968) that the Rolling Stones assembled an all star list of musicians for their 'Rock & Roll Circus at London's Twickenham studios'.  The event was planned as a holiday tv special in conjunction with the release of the Stones' 'Beggar's Banquet' album.  It was filmed for a two-day period and turned out to be the last performance with Brian Jones in the band.

 

Among the guest players were The Who, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, John Lennon,  and Marianne Faithfull.  The Circus also was John Lennon's first performance outside the Beatles, and his first appearance with Yoko Ono.  John teamed up with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Jim Hendrix Experience drummer Noel Redding for a performance of 'Yer Blues' that turned out to be an absolute highlight of 'Rock & Roll Circus'.  There is a DVD out there of the event, but most of it is a fairly ramshackle and sloppy set of performances.  The Stones didn't want it released for many years due to their performances, but finally relented for the fans.  It does have its moments, including an incendiary version of and is worth a look if you find a copy in store.

Here is John Lennon's historic appearance on a true rock and roll rendition of 'Yer Blues'.  The guitar work from John and Eric Clapton is incredible:

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