Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English guitarist and founding member of the English rock group The Rolling Stones. Jones was known for his use of multiple instruments, fashionable mod image, recreational drug excesses and his death at age 27.

Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, during World War II. Supposedly he suffered from asthma all his life. His middle-class parents, Lewis Blount Jones and Louisa Beatrice Jones were of Welsh descent. Brian had two sisters: Pamela, who was born on 3 October 1943 and who died on 14 October 1945 of leukemia; and Barbara, born in 1946.

In 1957 Jones first heard the music of jazz musician Cannonball Adderley, which inspired his lifelong interest in jazz. Jones persuaded his parents to buy him a saxophone, and two years later his parents gave him his first acoustic guitar as a 17th birthday present.

Jones attended local schools, including Dean Close School, from 1949 to 1953 and Cheltenham Grammar School for Boys, which he entered in September 1953 after passing the Eleven-plus exam. He was an exceptional student, earning high marks in all of his classes while doing little work. He enjoyed badminton and diving but otherwise was not skilled at sports. In 1957, Jones reportedly obtained nine O-levels passes. Despite academic ability, however, he found school regimented and he refused to conform. He was known to eschew wearing the school uniforms and angered teachers with his behaviour, though he was popular among students. His hostility to authority figures resulted in his suspension from school on two occasions. According to Dick Hattrell, a childhood friend: "He was a rebel without a cause, but when examinations came he was brilliant."