Photo of The Rolling Stones at Longview Farm in 1981
The following is an extract of Gil Markle's Diary Of A Studio Owner, about the Stones getting in shape for their 1981 tour. The full content is now on a private site, www.gilmarkle.com:
"Billy Maykel, the local Svengali and chiropractor, had stopped by and had cracked all available backs. Mick requested the treatment, but once Billy was on the premises, his popularity spread like wildfire. Keith, once "cracked" and relieved of a bothersome shoulder pain, instructed Woody to "get cracked, too." Bill and Astrid came next. Patti Hansen officiated at the assembly-line back-crackings, which occurred downstairs in the barn, just outside the sauna. She "got cracked" herself, and immediately joined the ranks of the proselytizers and converted. The Rolling Stones thought Dr. Billy Maykel was a genius, and he's still prescribing adjustments and diet changes for them by mail. I "got cracked," too, over in the Flat, and was briefed by Maykel on the state of the spines of the members of the band.
"Mick's the worst," Dr. Billy said, gravely. "Don't see how he can carry on, in the state he's in. Internal organs? I don't want to talk about it. He's better now, though. Three consecutive sets of adjustments I've put him through, and he's obviously improved. Now, Gil, breathe out. That's it. All the way out."
"CRACK!"
"Hmmm. Not doing too well yourself, if you want to know."
"How so, Billy?"
"Liver, Gil. I've been telling you this now for years. Liver."
"Whaddaya mean, 'liver'?" I asked Dr. Billy Maykel.
"You know, Gil. Without my telling you. You're also not doing the pressure point exercises either, like you've been told. There, get up. That should loosen you up for a while. Your fourth lumbar was way out. Not as far as Mick's though. His was practically out of joint. Keith, he had another problem altogether..."
"Please, Billy, don't tell me things like that. They're all better now, though, you say?"
"No problem. They'll perform in Philly, if that's what you're asking."
That was good for me to hear. Didn't want it said that we'd sent the Rolling Stones out into the world in anything less than fighting shape. I thanked Billy, and made my way across the driveway to the Farmhouse, feeling particularly light on my feet. The cracking had been a good one. It was now suppertime, or just a bit later than that.
Cracking of the back loosens up the mind, that's why I'm a fan of chiropractic. I was thinking particularly well, all of a sudden. Hallucinating for a start; then tying the rush down to earth, in the form of a determination — of an intention. Always works, that. If you start with an hallucination, and then focus, you're home-free-all. The thing will then happen. Some shrinks will charge you $250 per hour, and still not tell you that. "
Note from Dr. Maykel’s brother Mitch Maykel: The original site content also mentions that Dr. Maykel helped Keith Richards with his shoulder. Dr. Maykel told me that he helped Mick Jagger by restoring his faltering voice as well as his arm. Dr. Maykel also said that he was not concerned about any HIPAA healthcare privacy issues because Keith Richards mentioned him, Dr. Maykel, in his first autobiography.
As Dr. Maykel became more and more expert in his specialty of Professional Applied Kinesiology (PAK), he almost never needed to “crack” anyone’s back or neck, and used low-impact, respiratory adjustments by challenging a respective joint or vertebrae by using muscle testing, and then re-aligning the joint, spine or neck vertebrae with a soft, respiratory adjustment. He greatly disliked it when other chiropractors jerked people’s necks—and said there is absolutely no need to do that kind of adjusting.
