How much is Bill Wyman worth?
| Net Worth: | $75 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional musician |
| Date of Birth: | October 24, 1936 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
About Bill Wyman
The son of bricklayer William George Perks and Kathleen May (“Molly”), née Jeffery, William George Perks was born in Lewisham Hospital in Lewisham, South London. Wyman, one of six children, spent the most of his formative years residing in the challenging Penge, Southeast London, streets. Wyman, who survived the Blitz and enemy jet plane strafing that killed his neighbors, described his upbringing during the war as being “scarred by poverty.”
Wyman studied the piano from the age of 10 until 13. He married Diane Cory, an 18-year-old bank clerk, on October 24, 1959. A year later, on October 24, 1960, he purchased a Burns electric guitar on hire-purchase for £52, which is equivalent to $1,274 in 2021. After seeing a bass guitar during a Barron Knights event, he decided to convert to bass guitar. He converted a used UK-built Dallas Tuxedo bass into a fretless electric bass guitar by removing its frets and used it in a south London band called the Cliftons in 1961.
On December 7, 1962, he was informed by drummer Tony Chapman that the Rolling Stones, a rhythm and blues group, needed a bass player. He went to an audition in a Chelsea bar and was chosen to replace Dick Taylor.
His instrument and amplifiers made an impression on the band (one of which Wyman modified himself, and a Vox AC30). Wyman was the group’s senior citizen.
On early songs and up until 1967, Wyman regularly sang backup vocals live as well. From the album Their Satanic Majesties Request, he co-wrote and performed the lead vocals on the song “In Another Land.”
Wyman and Brian Jones got along well; while on tour, they frequently went out to clubs and shared rooms. Even though Jones was separating himself from the band, he and Jones continued to hang around. Wyman was one of just two band members (Watts being the other) to attend Jones’ burial in July 1969, so when he learned of his passing, he was devastated. Wyman also contributed to the albums The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions, which Howlin’ Wolf, Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts, and Stevie Winwood published in 1971, and Jamming with Edward, which Ry Cooder, Nicky Hopkins, Mick Jagger, and Watts released in 1972.
Wyman’s solo song “(Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star” reached the top 20 in various nations in July 1981. Wyman also created the Green Ice soundtrack CD in 1981 for the Ryan O’Neal and Omar Sharif movie of the same name. He wrote the music for two Italian director Dario Argento movies in the middle of the 1980s: Phenomena (1985) and Terror at the Opera (1987).
In the 1987 movie Eat the Rich, Wyman made a brief appearance. On a select number of Tucky Buzzard records, he played on and produced.
In place of the late Ronnie Lane, Wyman performed a reunion gig with Faces on October 25, 2009, just as he had in 1986 and 1993. He was admitted as a Rolling Stones member to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He has been recording and touring since 1997 with his own group, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. In addition to producing recordings and movies, he has composed music for motion pictures and television.
Wyman and Mick Taylor were slated to perform with the Rolling Stones in 2012 for concerts in London (November 25 and 29) and Newark (December 13 and 15), though Darryl Jones handled the most of the bass duties. Later, he clarified that he had no interest in continuing the band’s 2013 tour.
Wyman was given a prostate cancer diagnosis in March 2016, but doctors predicted he would fully recover.
The most expensive bass ever sold was one of Wyman’s instruments. In 2020, his 1969 Fender Mustang Bass went for $380,000 at auction.
