Rolling Stones At Hirsch: 52 Years Ago Today [VIDEO]

In the fall of 1965, there were really only two bands: The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Sure, there were other groups, like the cute Herman's Hermits, the thoughtful Moody Blues and the ever-harmonious Beach Boys. But in the end, there were only two, and one of them, the Rolling Stones, was coming to town.

Imagine, in this day and age, one of the biggest bands in the world playing 38 shows in 38 days. Well, that was the exhausting schedule for the Rolling Stones 2nd American Tour 1965. Mick and the lads kicked it all off in Montreal on October 29 and wrapped it up on December 5 in San Diego. And tour spot #20, November 20, 1965, Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana.

As John Andrew Prime wrote in The Times in a 2015 article commemorating the 50th anniversary of the show:

"'You had to look fast to see them, though,' wrote Welton Jones, The Times amusements editor, who reviewed the show. 'Their private plane arrived at the Greater Shreveport Municipal Airport after the opening acts had already taken the stage at Hirsch. They went on at about 9:40 and finished at about 10:05. Less than 10 minutes later, their limousine - with a police escort - was headed back to the airport for their flight to Dallas.'"

The Stones opened their thirteen song set with "She Said Yeah" and finished it off with what would become their hit for the ages, ""{I Can't Get No} Satisfaction."

A little more history from Mr. Prime and The Times:

"The Stones’ opening acts were the Rocking Ramrods, Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles and the Vibrations. Tickets, which were first advertised about two weeks prior to the show, cost $4.50 and $5.50 at Stan’s Record Shops, Southern Maid Donuts and Lee Martin Stores."

And this last big surprise:

"The crowd...only filled about a third of the hall, say perhaps 3,500 people, and hardly merited the 100 or so police hired."

Mick Jagger once said, "I'd rather be dead than singing 'Satisfaction' when I'm 45." He was 22 when he sang it here in Shreveport, and, today, at the age of 74, he's still belting out that iconic tune and 52 years after that magic night at Hirsch, still going strong.