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http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/rolling-stones-...LANCASTER – It was 1965 when Andrea J. Baker first saw the Rolling Stones play rock ’n’ roll on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
She knew there had never been another band like them, but there were many that followed.
The Stones’ eerie, sexualized, bluesy/rock sound with interesting lyrics of stories and life intrigued Baker, a high-schooler at the time the Stones were breaking out in the United States market.
“I just kind of captured me,” she said. “The fact that my parents didn’t know what to make of it — that was a draw too.”
Baker’s love for the Stones grew from there, prompting her to attend more than 20 of their concerts and eventually leading her down a path of professional pursuits in studying the band and its fans.
Baker, an Ohio University-Lancaster emeritus associate professor of sociology, combined her love for the Stones, their fans and study of human behavior for her latest published work: “You Get What You Need: Stories of Fans of the Rolling Stones.”
“You Get What you Need” was published by Miniver Press at the end of December, giving readers an inside look at the Stones’ fan culture. Baker interviewed more than 100 fans from 2007 to 2013 found in various online communities.
The idea, she said, was to examine the online life of die-hard fans of the Stones and the online fan boards they take part in.
“The social part of the fan experience used to be waiting in line for tickets,” Baker said. “Now that time is spent in your own home.”
Baker heard many stories from fans along the way attempting to meet the band members or at least get a closer look at them performing on stage.
One of the stories included fans climbing up an electrical tower for a better view, which followed with security guards attacking them and trying to get them down. Baker said it didn’t take long for the band singer Mick Jagger to tell them that what they were doing was dangerous and they had better get down.
“That’s what people live for in a way, even if the attention isn’t really positive,” Baker said.
Baker met one of the Stones’ band members, guitarist Ron Wood, who she said is supposed to be the friendliest to fans of all the members, at his art show in Las Vegas.
“He shakes my hand and says, ‘Thanks for coming,’ ” Baker recalled of her interaction with Wood.
Like many fans, Baker said, she wants to meet the rest of the band someday, and she has plans to send some of the band members copies of her book.
“I just want them to read it,” she said.
In addition to Baker’s fascination with the Stones, she also is interested in people’s interactions online. That has become a theme in her published work, including her first book published in 2005, titled “Double Click: Romance and Commitment Among Online Couples.”
Baker’s newest book, “You Get What You Need: Stories of Fans of the Rolling Stones,” is available in Kindle version or in paperback at Amazon.com by searching “Andrea J. Baker” or the book’s title.
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My book on RS Fans is Out: You Get What You Need (Read 15,673 times)
