Giorgio Gomelsky, legendary Rolling Stones' Manager, dead at 82

Giorgio Gomelsky, the first manager of legendary British band The Rolling Stones, died on January 13 after a bout with cancer at 82.

Born in Georgia - former Soviet Union - on February 28, 1937, Gomelsky grew up in Switzerland before moving to England to be a film-maker. He immediately got into the city's blues scene by Alexis Korner and the as yet little known Rolling Stones. He opened the Crawdaddy Club where the Stones were essentially the house band. He was removed from his Stones managing gig when young and reckless Andrew Loog Oldham came into the picture, in May 1963.

After leaving the Jagger & Co. to Oldham, he then began booking The Yardbirds at the Crawdaddy. and he would go on to manage them and other British acts like Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and Gong. 

Gomelsky moved to New York in 1978 and settled into a building on 21 St. in Chelsea that later was converted into an underground club know as the Green Door. There he mentored a rock scene which gave birth to D-Generation, among others.

Sadly, he reportedly died without managing to complete his autobiography.