I am very sad to inform the Stones trading community that the greatest American trader, Steve Kinney, has died on February 25,  2010, from brain cancer.  Steve Kinney pioneered the early collection of concert audio tapes during the 1970s, before there were CDs or an internet to connect traders and collectors from across the globe.  He did this by recording concerts himself, giving generously to others, writing letters overseas, making contacts and bringing people together to exchange recordings and to share the joy of the music.  He was the first person I ever knew to collect all of the concerts in multiple versions from all of the tours.  He did this without the advantages of modern technology such as computer recording or internet sources.  He did it almost entirely on his own.  There was no one else like him and never will be again.

Steve Kinney was the single most important and influential person in my entire life.  I knew him for 17 years.  I admired him, respected him, looked up to him and tried to be like him.  I modeled myself and my entire collection of the Rolling Stones music after him.  He was the primary source for most of the recordings in my collection.  

For Steve Kinney, the Rolling Stones were the greatest love of his life.  His collection of their music was second to none.  I do not know of anyone who was actively trading tapes before Steve Kinney, and I can not think of a single person who did more to further the exchange of their music, and to establish the early trading network that has grown into the vast trading/collecting community that we are all a part of today.

Good friends stay with you in the best and worst of times, and I stuck with Steve Kinney throughout the whole four-year ordeal of the cancer, it's multiple surgeries and treatments, and its ultimate end in death. I did everything I could to support him and encourage him during this long, protracted, horrific nightmare.  It is hard to believe that he is finally gone.  The world will be a much sadder place without him.

I can not express how much I will miss Steve Kinney in the coming years. He was one of the most significant people in my life and the news of his death has dealt me a vicious blow from which I will never recover. I suspected and dreaded that things might end this way, but nonetheless, I am reeling from the shock of hearing that it has actually happened. Steve Kinney was a very unique and special person and I will never forget him as long as I live.

Gene M. Broxson

Thank you for letting us know. So sorry you have lost a dear friend and we mourn the passing of a great Stones fan and legendary trader. RIP Steve and Gene please know you have many friends here even though we've never met. Stay strong!

Very sad...RIP Steve

Being a bootleg collector myself, I must have a lot of his work and I want to thank him for that!

RIP

Sorry to hear about this, Gene.

Many people who started collecting in the internet era (and especially in the era where downloads are available often within hours of the shows taking place) often take the availability of recordings for granted and dont have much of a grasp of what it used to be like and how much effort people like Steve put in to recording shows, making contacts and bringing people together.

Whilst its much easier now, it's also become a lot more impersonal and THAT part of it is something I personally miss about trading.

I didn't know Steve personally, but what you've said about him suggests that he was one of the last of what is a dying breed of fan.

RIP Steve and thanks on behalf of everyone who benefitted directly or indirectly from your generosity.

RIP !

RIP. He sounded like a great guy. So what happens to his collection now? Hopefully it's greatly appreciated, and the value! I hope it's looked after properly after all his hard work!

Gazza wrote on Mar 13^th, 2010 at 5:02pm:

Sorry to hear about this, Gene. Many people who started collecting in the internet era (and especially in the era where downloads are available often within hours of the shows taking place) often take the availability of recordings for granted and dont have much of a grasp of what it used to be like and how much effort people like Steve put in to recording shows, making contacts and bringing people together. Whilst its much easier now, it's also become a lot more impersonal and THAT part of it is something I personally miss about trading. I didn't know Steve personally, but what you've said about him suggests that he was one of the last of what is a dying breed of fan. RIP Steve and thanks on behalf of everyone who benefitted directly or indirectly from your generosity.

yep things have certainly changed, i love the avalanche of recordings that you can find on the internet so much that i dont have the time to listen to them all!!! thirty years ago the only live music you heard outside the concerts was the king biscuit flower hours and whatever the radio stations had in their vaults. you taped that off the air!!! then there were those vinyl bootlegs that could be had for a kings ransom and we would gather around the turntable listening to the unlistenable fireside records with the pops and skips and warps etc. then there was the TAPE trading. jeez the hours we used to spend copying and aquiring those things. hearing that so and so had a copy of this or that, and trying to get it. it used to be so hard sometimes to aquirre stuff because alot of these people wouldnt copy them unless you could trade. getting those first few recordings you had to rely on friendship and non jaded snooty traders. it took years to build a good collection eventually i got to know some tapers and that opened the world up still got hundreds of those things boxed up. goodbye steve and thanks for being there!!!

so sad for your loss buddy. hope the pain passes soon.
the world is always a sadder less fun place when a true Stones fan passes on

One love

Thanks, Gene, for sharing the dedication and caring traits of Steve.

It's the caring of people like Steve who have helped so many people start their collections. Whether providing that rare show, starting a 'vine' or 'tree' back in the day. I, like many, miss the days of coming home at the end of the day and seeing that envelope in the mailbox.

May he rest in peace.

R.I.P.

Back in the late 70's I was able to get my hands on a boot called "Nasty Music" which was a compilation of Brussels Affair and Welcome to New York later on I also obtained the '75 LA boots (Who Went to Church in particular). Given the contents of your post i would not be surprised if, some where along the line, Steve had a hand in my being able to do so. They were, of course, epiphanic moments in my career as a stones fan.

Be all that as it may be, he was clearly a giant among stones fans and all who have benefited from and enjoyed his work owe him a huge debt of gratitude.  

thanks Steve

Grace upon Steve, and guys like him and Mike Millard, who devoted so much to our research and enlightenment,

RIP, Steve.

Yes, bootleg tapes were such treasures back in the day.  Now they are taken for granted.

RIP Steve Kinney.

RIP Steve

Rest in peace, Steve

Rest in Peace Friend and Thank you for your hard work, it will not be forgotten.

May he rest in peace .....

Gene, it must have been the hardest thing you've ever done, watching your friend and mentor die slowly and so horribly of such a cruel disease, my heart goes out to you! In a way the people we love do not die until we do so ourselves and until the last person to remember them does so too. We carry a bit of them within us and they forever inhabit our emotional landscape. I know there is nothing anyone could possibly say to make this less hard on you, but this epitaph I once saw chiselled into a headstone in Egypt brought me some solace:

Life is eternal
love is immortal
death is only a horizon
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

Sorry for the lost.

R.I.P.  Steve

This sucks. I am trying to remember if I knew the guy, the name sounds familiar but I think I traded with more Steves than anything.

But in the last few years, collecting has become boring. I download a lot but rarely listen and rarely does it mean anything. The only thing thrilling is to upload obscure bands to see how many people have heard of them and maybe have stories to share. And recording as much as possible, giving back directly to the musicians whenever possible.

Collecting major artists has gone so far over the hump and I just don't care any more!

RIP Steve,

Gene, you can honor him greatly by continuing his legacy and making rare stones recordings available to all true fans.  Keep up your great work.

Another Trader Steve