According to the band's official website, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger have a long history. The pair attended Wentworth Primary School together in Kent, U.K., and seemed to share some important things in common. Chief among these, it transpired later, was an appreciation for the music of Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and others in the increasingly popular genre. It was the work of Muddy Waters, however, that would indirectly earn the group their iconic moniker.
Innovative slide guitarist Brian Jones, per UDiscover Music, was a founding member of the band. Richards and Jagger reportedly saw Jones performing in the Ealing Blues club, and were taken by his talent and creativity. By July of 1962, he was playing with the band, in a Soho gig that marked their debut under the name The Rollin' Stones (as it was originally spelled). It seems there's a good reason why Jones is regarded as much more than just an influential member of the outfit, though: He apparently came up with their name on the spot, when asked unexpectedly during a telephone call.
Radio X states that their big July 1962 opportunity was a performance in London's Marquee Club. It was a big enough deal that Jazz News magazine covered it, and Jones was speaking to the publication on the telephone when the conversation turned to a rather obvious topic he apparently hadn't considered: the name of the currently-anonymous band.
