Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several British rhythm and blues bands in short succession, including the Birds[2] and the Creation.

The album featured bandmate McLagan as well as former Beatle George Harrison and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, a longtime friend of Wood.

Soon after Mick Taylor left the Rolling Stones, Richards invited Wood to join them; he did so in 1975, initially temporarily, but became an official member in 1976.

[4][5] Wood was born in Hillingdon, west London, into a family of English "bargees" (river or canal barge operators, sometimes called "water gypsies").

[8] Wood began his career as a professional musician in 1964 as a lead guitarist with the Birds, a R&B band based in Yiewsley, Middlesex.

A popular live act with a considerable fan base, the Birds released several singles in the mid-1960s;[9] Wood wrote or co-wrote nearly half the songs the group recorded.

[10] By 1967, the Birds had disbanded, and Wood briefly took part in a project called Santa Barbara Machine Head which included later Deep Purple co-founder Jon Lord, before joining the Jeff Beck Group as a bassist.

[13] In 1969, after Steve Marriott left the Small Faces, Wood began working with the remaining members of that group, returning to his instrument of choice, the guitar.

Following Taylor's departure from the Rolling Stones in December 1974, Wood participated in the band's March 1975 recording sessions for their forthcoming album Black and Blue.

To promote it, Wood formed and toured with the New Barbarians, playing 20 concerts in Canada and the US in April/May and the Knebworth Festival in the UK in August.

[23][24] Throughout the 1980s, Wood played as an official member of the Rolling Stones; continued his solo career, releasing the album 1234 in 1981; painted; and collaborated with a number of other artists, including Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Ringo Starr and Aretha Franklin.

At the 1985 Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia, Wood along with Keith Richards performed in the penultimate set with Bob Dylan.

After the tour, a DVD called Far East Man was released, a song co-written by Ronnie Wood and George Harrison.

In 2005, however, Wood was again busy with the Rolling Stones as the band recorded their A Bigger Bang album—although he played on only 10 of the album's 16 tracks.

[27] On 11 August 2009, Wood joined Pearl Jam on the stage of Shepherd's Bush Empire in London for a performance of "All Along the Watchtower".

Bill Wyman played bass; lead vocals were shared by several performers, notably Mick Hucknall.

On 2 November 2009, Wood was given an "Outstanding Contribution" award at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour ceremony in London.

Airing on Saturday night at 10 pm, the one-hour show consists of Wood playing tracks by artists he has worked with and other personal favourites.

[34] In May 2023, Wood performed at the Jeff Beck tribute concerts held at the Royal Albert Hall, sharing the stage with Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Kirk Hammett, Johnny Depp among others and two months later, he made a surprise appearance during the Hollywood Vampires concert at O2 Arena in London.

[35][36] In 2024, he contributed guitar to a re-release of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Several of his paintings, including a work commissioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, are displayed at London's Drury Lane Theatre.

[40] Art critic Brian Sewell has called Wood "an accomplished and respectable artist";[41] and the South Bank Show has devoted an entire program to his artwork.

[46][47] In October 2007, Wood appeared on the television motor show Top Gear, achieving a celebrity lap time of 1:49.4.

One of his best-known horses, of which he is the breeder, is Sandymount Duke, who has competed in both flat and jump racing under trainer Jessica Harrington.

[73][74] Their twin girls, named Gracie Jane and Alice Rose, were born on Monday 30 May 2016, just before Ronnie Wood's 69th birthday on 1 June 2016.