Making "Exile on Main Street"

In the spring of 1971, nine years into their existence as the world's greatest rock & roll band, the Rolling Stones learned to their great dismay that they were not only broke but would also have to leave England to avoid paying British income tax. They decamped to the French Riviera -- aptly described by Somerset Maugham as "a sunny place for shady people," where all forms of aberrant behavior had always been tolerated so long as the bill was always paid on time -- and began recording their new album in the basement of Villa Nellcôte, Keith Richards' sumptuous mansion by the sea. The result was the Stones' only double album, the classic "Exile on Main Street."

This excerpt from Robert Greenfield's forthcoming book "Exile on Main St..: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones" includes online-only photos of the band.