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Single by The Rolling Stones
B-side"Stoned" (Nanker Phelge)
Released: 1 November 1963
Format: 7" single
Recorded7 October 1963
Genre: Beat, hard rock
Length: 1:43
LabelDecca
Writer(s): Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s): Andrew Loog Oldham
Released as their second single on 1 November 1963, the Stones' version was an early hit, peaking at No. 12 on the British chart. Their rendition is a song featuring Brian Jones' distinctive slide guitar and Bill Wyman's driving bass playing. It is one of the few Rolling Stones songs to feature only Brian Jones on backing vocals. In the US, the song was released on 6 March 1964 as the B-side to "Not Fade Away".
According to various accounts, either the Rolling Stones' manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham or the Rolling Stones themselves ran into Lennon and McCartney on the street as the two were returning from an awards luncheon. Hearing that the band were in need of material for a single, Lennon and McCartney went to their session at De Lane Lea Studio and finished off the song – whose verse they had already been working on – in the corner of the room while the impressed Rolling Stones watched.
Mick Jagger recalled the song in 1968:
We knew [the Beatles] by then and we were rehearsing and Andrew brought Paul and John down to the rehearsal. They said they had this tune, they were really hustlers then. I mean the way they used to hustle tunes was great: 'Hey Mick, we've got this great song.' So they played it and we thought it sounded pretty commercial, which is what we were looking for, so we did it like Elmore James or something. I haven't heard it for ages but it must be pretty freaky 'cause nobody really produced it. It was completely crackers, but it was a hit and sounded great onstage.
Bill Wyman noted how the Rolling Stones adapted the song to their style
We kind of learned it pretty quickly 'cause there wasn't that much to learn. Then Brian got his slide out, his steel (guitar) out and dadaw... dadaw... and we said, Yeah, that's better, dirty it up a bit and bash it out, and we kind of completely turned the song around and made it much more tough, Stones- and Elmore James-like.
Released only as a single, the Rolling Stones' rendition did not appear on a studio album. The song was released in the UK on the 1972 Decca compilation album Milestones and on the UK compilation album Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones in 1975. In 1989, it was issued on the US compilation album Singles Collection: The London Years. It is included on the four CD version of the 2012 GRRR! compilation.
The B-side of the second single was "Stoned", a "Green Onions" influenced instrumental composed by Nanker/Phelge, the early collective pseudonym for the group. Additionally, it included the 'Sixth Stone' pianist Ian Stewart, making it the first released self-penned composition, with added spoken asides by Mick Jagger. Some original 1963 copies were issued with the misprinted title as "Stones", making it doubly collectable as a rarity.
A promotional video featuring the song was the first song ever performed on the Top of the Pops TV program in the UK. A performance of the song on the The Arthur Haynes Show recorded on 7 February 1964 appears as part of the bonus material on the 2012 documentary film Crossfire Hurricane.
Personnel
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Mick Jagger – lead vocals
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Brian Jones – backing vocals, slide guitar
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Keith Richards – rhythm guitar
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Bill Wyman – bass
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Charlie Watts – drums
The Arthur Haynes Show I Wanna Be Your Man
I Wanna Be Your Man
