Yes, I'm aware of this info; all the same, it's difficult to say whether one says a band "were" or "are" great.... so it's just semantics. I've even heard it said the Rolling Stones "were" a good rock and roll band though they are still around....
For me, the Rolling Stones' musical greatness ended with
Exile on Main Street. If they'd
called it a career after that album, they'd have equaled the Beatles for going out in a blaze
of glory as the Beatles did with
Abbey Road. (For the unintiated:
Let It Be was
their final release, but the Beatles put that album to bed before starting
Abbey Road.)