Will Summer Concerts Sing the Blues?

Rolling Stones

Would they or wouldn't they? That was the question fans of the Rolling Stones have been asking for months regarding a summer tour.

That speculation was based on the fact that the long-in-the-tooth British rockers celebrate their 50th anniversary this year.

Alas, there will be no jumping for Jack Flash -- at least not as things stand. It was decided, according to music industry rumor, that guitarist Keith Richards, who suffered a brain hemorrhage after falling from a tree in 2006 (cracking his head during a break from the Bigger Bang tour), might not be healthy enough for the grueling travel schedule a tour would require. A scaled-back set of performances are more likely, most in Europe.

Richards himself told Rolling Stone that the touring delay had more to do with the fact that the band "wasn't ready" and that 2013 might be a more likely time for getting back on the road.

A lot of satisfaction may be on the line if the Glimmer Twins do hit the concert scene once again. Their 2006 performances grossed more than $558 million, beating what was previously the most lucrative concert tour in history, U2's Vertigo tour, which raked in $377 million. The Stones, over the course of 144 shows, performed before more than 4.6 million people.

Before U2's Vertigo tour, the highest-grossing series was also the Stones', with $558 million netted from the Voodoo Lounge tour of 2004-05. U2 has since trumped all these results with a gross of more than $736.4 million earned by its multiyear 360° tour, which sold roughly 7.2 million tickets.

Michael Cohl, the promoter behind the Bigger Bang tour, was dubbed the "Howard Hughes of rock 'n' roll" by Fortune and is credited with the concept of "package" touring, an approach that gives bands near-total control over tour dates, marketing and all the money-making add-ons -- programs, shirts, DVDs, etc.

Cohl was also the driving force behind Michael Jackson's Victory tour, U2's PopMart and Yo Gabba Gabba! Live: There's a Party in My City!. He is a producer for the troubled Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which features songs written by U2.

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