Ron Wood Can’t Remember His Many Girlfriends

Returning to his earlier years for How Can It Be?: A Rock 'n' Roll Diary led Ron Wood to a surprising discovery about his faltering memory. For example, the longtime Rolling Stones guitarist says, he can't recall many of his exes.

"One regret I have, going back through this diary, is that I can’t remember what a lot of my girlfriends looked like years ago," Wood told NME. "I don’t regret the drinking – I drank for Britain until I got sober five years ago. That was a learning curve I had to go through, but not remembering the wonderful girls is a regret."

After so long in the business, with so many miles and so many gigs and so many albums and awards, Wood could be forgiven if a few things slip his mind. He discovered, however, that even some very big moments were hard to summon again. That's why Wood recommends that any young musician who's just starting out keep a diary of his own.

“If you’re lucky like me, you’ll be so busy you won’t have time to remember all the great things you did," Wood said. "Going back through my diary from 1965, I remembered I bumped into Sid James one night. And another entry reads, ‘Had a great time with Wilson Pickett.’ ‘In the Midnight Hour’ was the biggest record there was for me, but I’d forgotten all about our adventure together until I picked up the diary again."

How Can It Be?: A Rock 'N' Roll Diary was recently published. Meanwhile, the Stones are set to play San Diego later this month, part of a string of North American summer tour dates. Before then, they'll release an expanded reissue of 1971's Sticky Fingers, due on June 9.

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