Now that the Rolling Stones have turned 50, we might wonder how it's possible they could last so long, let alone remain so active.

The focus, as always, remains on flamboyant front man Mick Jagger and the seemingly debauched lead-guitarist Keith Richards, two mega-millionaire geezers who have stuck it to the man and lived to laugh about it.

In last Friday's story on The Stones in The Daily News, Jagger is described looking at the group's first professional photo, in 1963. Says Jagger: "You can see when you look at the photos how we couldn't give a hoot about anything. You can just sort of tell by the attitude of those photographs how we didn't care."

The Rolling Stones epitomized the rebellious, devil-may-care attitude of rock and roll. And that lifestyle looks like it took its toll on Richards in particular, who for decades has looked close to death.

But in private, Richards is a husband and father of two and is a homeowner who takes care of himself - he'll be 70 next year. He's also a disciplined musician with a strong work ethic and an array of musical ventures.

Rehearsing with the uber-demanding Chuck Berry, Richards puts up with Berry's ego and criticisms, defers to him repeatedly and replays each riff with minute adjustments until Berry is satisfied.

If it's Chuck Berry's show, then Chuck gets to do it his way, and Richards rolls with it. This is hardly the stuff of apathetic or angry rebellion. In fact, he plays with scores of professional musicians, and if his public image were real, he would be most unwelcome.

As for Jagger, he must have been chortling to himself when he told the reporter, "we didn't care." They did, and Jagger especially.

In Simon Wells' book, Butterfly on a Wheel, The Great Rolling Stones Drug Bust, the cautious Jagger is described watching a tightly controlled 1960s LSD party. He's quoted: "I'm not sure about any of this. I don't know where this will all end up."

Even then, the young Jagger had grown-up concerns.

Jagger's education includes the prestigious London School of Economics, and you don't get to study there unless you did well in school.

And as a so-called rebellious rock-n-roller, he put his business skills into practice. The Stones earned money not just from shows and recordings; they gleaned percentages from everything right down to the tour buses that brought out-of-town fans to their shows.

It was business, all savvy business.

Rebellious? Devil-may-care? It's a crock. It's been a crock for 50 years. And it's been very good business.