The Rolling Stones: Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2002

Martin Elliott The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions is the definitive guide to the Rolling Stones' recorded works. First published in 1989, it became a renowned source of material and inspired many a fan's record collection across the world. The book has now been updated to take into account the extra recordings released since then and also to include additional available research information. Written by Martin Elliott, a self-confessed Stones fan and renowned authority on the group, the book lists every recording - both the official releases and the infamous bootlegs. Every recording session and significant live recording is listed in chronological order. Every song carries a full commentary and provides information not only on the recording listed but also places the recording in context with the historical period. As a result it can be read as a unique chronological story to the rise of the most famous rock and roll group in the world who in 2002 celebrate 40 years in the industry. The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions is an invaluable source of reference for those devoted to the forty-year (so far) career of the greatest rock and roll group in the world but also for those who want to listen to their favourite tracks and read the background information to the recording.

£16.49 (plus postage)  Tell a friend about this release

DIDDLEY DADDY – THE FATHER OF THEM ALL

March 1962 – February 1964

1. AROUND AND AROUND (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Like stars forming a constellation, the various members embarked on their unification coming together in 1961. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards bumped into each other at Dartford train station in the autumn, the two having not seen each other since primary school days. They reminisced and then, due to records held under their arms, discovered music was their current common denominator - Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, etc. To carry records around under your arms was like declaring your badge on your sleeve. Both knew Dick Taylor (who later founded a successful mid-sixties R ‘n’ B band, The Pretty Things) and consequently they started some rehearsals at the Jagger’s home. Bob Beckwith and Allen Etherington were their co-noise makers under the guise of the Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. The seeds were sown, the friendship renewed. In 1961, Bill Perks was forming a pub and dance pop band who became known as The Cliftons, their drummer was Tony Chapman. Brian Jones by comparison landed in London from the Cotswolds, propelled by meeting Alexis Korner after a Chris Barber gig at Brian’s home-town in Cheltenham in late 1961. Brian had gained valuable experience by playing guitar and saxophone on Duane Eddy style numbers in the Cheltenham band the Ramrods. On Monday 19 February 1962, The Ramrods supported The Delta Jazzmen, Danny Rivers, Mike Berry, and The Outlaws at Cheltenham Town Hall. Brian had met Paul Pond (later Paul Jones the front man for Manfred Mann) at parties in London where musical ideas were swapped, but Brian proudly refused to join Paul’s band, wanting one of his own. Brian wanted to know what Alexis Korner felt about a tape he and Paul Pond had sent him, but he could not remember it. As a result, Alexis listened to Brian’s guitar playing and duly impressed, invited him to London - where Brian regularly stayed at his home. Brian had a girlfriend and already a son which complicated his life but he eventually moved to London in early 1962 and played occasionally with Blues Incorporated guesting on slide guitar on his favourite Dust My Broom. In January 1962, Charlie Watts joined Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated which featured Cyril Davies. In the late ‘fifties Cyril Davies Jazz Band had launched skiffle and the career of Lonnie Donnegan. They currently played a mixture of jazz, rhythm and blues, even country blues and attracted press attention in musical journals like Disc, Jazz News and the Melody Maker. In April, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the band investigated the West London, Ealing Jazz Club and witnessed the slide blues player who was guesting with the Blues Incorporated band. After the gig they chatted with Brian Jones alias Elmo Lewis. At that time, the Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys recorded a number of tracks. A reel to reel tape of these tracks was sold at Sotheby’s in 1995 by a school friend whose parents owned the reel-to-reel. They mainly consisted of Chuck Berry covers, but also Elvis Presley’s cover of You’re Right, I’m Left, She’s Gone and Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s Don’t Want No Woman. Mick Jagger himself was the buyer for £50,000 of 13 songs which ensured his rightful ownership. Additionally at some point Reelin’ And A Rockin’ and Bright Lights, Big City were recorded and these tracks with La Bamba and Around And Around were sent to Alexis Korner to assist in their quest for a residency at the Ealing Club. Dick Taylor remembers fondly the version of La Bamba with Mick who got all the words off the record in pseudo-Spanish. Alexis was not impressed by the recordings but still invited Mick Jagger to sing and play harmonica on guest tracks with the Blues Incorporated at week-ends at the Jazz Club and also at the Marquee Jazz Club during week-days. And so Charlie Watts backed Mick Jagger for the first time. The sixth Stone, Ian Stewart marked his time before signing up.

2. LITTLE QUEENIE (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

3. BEAUTIFUL DELILAH (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Unavailable.

4. LA BAMBA (Valens)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

5. ON YOUR WAY TO SCHOOL (Unknown)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

6. YOU’RE RIGHT, I’M LEFT, SHE’S GONE (Kesler, Taylor)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

7. DOWN THE ROAD APIECE (Raye)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

8. DON’T WANT NO WOMAN (Robey)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

9. I AIN’T GOT YOU (Carter)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

10. JOHNNY B. GOODE (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

11. LITTLE QUEENIE (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

12. BEAUTIFUL DELILAH (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Bootleg only.

13. REELIN’ AND A ROCKIN’ (Berry)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Unavailable.

14. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY (Reed)
March 1962: Place: Unknown.
Producer: Unknown.
Track status: Unavailable.

15. YOU CAN’T JUDGE A BOOK BY THE COVER (Dixon)
27 October 1962: Place: Curly Clayton Sound Studios, Highbury, London, England.
Producer: Curly Clayton.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Their paths were getting closer. Brian Jones put an advertisement in the May 1962 edition of Jazz News asking for players to join him at a session to result in the formation of a band. Ian Stewart was the first to reply. They practised in bars such as the White Bear near Leicester Square and the Bricklayer’s Arms in Soho. Finally, Mick Jagger went with Keith Richards and Dick Taylor to jam at these sessions. Another advert gained Mick Avory (later of the Kinks) as a drummer and so Brian’s band was formed. Tony Chapman of The Cliftons attended one of these sessions. Mick Jagger stopped playing with Blues Incorporated to concentrate on what was happening with the others. As a well known outfit, Blues Incorporated had convinced the BBC of their worth and were booked for a session to be recorded for The Jazz Club. It coincided with their gig at the Marquee. Harold Pendleton said that they would lose their residency if they did not show up. The BBC could only budget for six musicians and Jagger was the one too many. Alexis Korner compromised by suggesting that he could convince Mick Jagger to play at the Marquee with his new band. Alexis spoke to Brian Jones who agreed to the gig, made aware even if he had not seen it before, of Mick’s potential impact. Brian chose the name Rolling Stones, after the Muddy Water’s song Rollin’ Stone Blues. The event was promoted as ‘Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones’. On 12 July 1962, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones (Elmo Lewis), Dick Taylor, Ian Stewart and Mick Avory appeared at the Marquee. They played mainly Jimmy Reed and Elmore James numbers but Keith Richards featured on three Chuck Berry songs. Harold Pendleton was not amused when fights started between the jazz Marquee locals and the young rhythm and blues fans attracted to the Marquee for their first time. After a few other gigs at the Ealing Jazz Club and some at the Marquee, it became apparent that Mick Avory was not fitting in. Charlie Watts was approached but was not prepared to commit to the band on a regular basis as he still worked full-time and played with Blues Incorporated - so Tony Chapman started to play with them. In late August, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones moved into Edith Grove for the 1962 autumn and winter which was one of the coldest on record. For Mick and Keith that meant their days in Dartford were put behind them - for Keith there was no more working as a ‘weekend boy’ in the supermarket Pricerite or as a temporary postman at Christmas. In October with Tony Chapman playing drums but with no bass guitar three tracks were recorded: Soon Forgotten, Close Together and You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover. Dick Taylor had had enough, prompted by another bust-up with Harold Pendleton when Keith Richards hit him with his guitar. He went back to college as the new term started. The tracks were recorded as a demo by a Stones line-up which included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Tony Chapman (on drums) and Ian Stewart. You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover was broadcast on Radio One in 1988 on the Simon Bates’ radio programme when he interviewed an enthusiast who had purchased an EMIDISC acetate of these three historic recordings in April 1988. The vendor had been given the acetate by Brian Jones in exchange for a shirt! Mick Jagger’s enunciation was distinctly non-British and leered in true Willie Dixon style. His vocals were the most distinctive instrument on the tape. The recordings were sent to Neville Skrimshire at EMI who rejected them.

16. SOON FORGOTTEN (Oden)
27 October 1962: Place: Curly Clayton Sound Studios, Highbury, London, England.
Producer: Curly Clayton.
Track status: Unavailable.
17. CLOSE TOGETHER (Reed)
27 October 1962: Place: Curly Clayton Sound Studios, Highbury, London, England.
Producer: Curly Clayton.
Track status: Unavailable.

18. DIDDLEY DADDY (McDaniel)
11 March 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Brian Jones wrote to Jazz News in October 1962 and attempted to explain that ... ‘It must be apparent that Rock ‘n’ Roll has a far greater affinity for R & B, than the latter has for jazz, insofar as Rock is a direct corruption of Rhythm & Blues, whereas jazz is Negro music on a different plane, intellectually higher, though emotionally less intense. Brian Jones, London SW10. (Brian Jones plays guitar with The Rollin’ Stones).’ Charlie Watts was finding that playing so regularly with Blues Incorporated was affecting his day job and so he left and started to play occasionally with Brian Knight’s Blues By Six. Tony Chapman had been telling Bill Wyman (his stage name) of the Stones and that they did not have a full-time bass player, and after meeting Ian Stewart at a concert, Bill Wyman was persuaded to attend a practice session at the Wetherby Arms. Brian Jones was more impressed by the size of Bill’s VOX 25 amplifier than his playing on his fretless home made bass guitar but after a couple of rehearsals Bill was invited to play at the next gig. The speaker with cement at the bottom was also another contributory factor even if it did take four people to carry it. Tony Chapman was sacked by the band, early in January 1963, knowing that Charlie Watts was on the side-lines and so at the end of January 1963 the line-up of The Rolling Stones was established. Oh, one more thing, at a gig in January, Mick advertised to the crowd that there was a spare bed going at Edith Grove for anyone willing to rent. After the band were packing up, James Phelge agreed to move in. And so the scene was set for the greatest motion adventure for which anyone could care to wish or dream. The constellation would take many shapes and images over the years. It was time to book themselves into the IBC studios. The outcome of the sessions are distinctly blues flavoured. Diddley Daddy is a Bo Diddley number and is performed in true rhythm and blues (R ‘n’ B) style. The song, although rough in texture, is guided by Mick Jagger’s roots vocals and features two instrumental breaks: the first by Brian Jones on the harmonica and the second by Ian Stewart tinkering on the ivories to the fade out.

19. ROAD RUNNER (McDaniel)
11 March 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Road Runner, another well-known Ellis McDaniel (a.k.a. Bo Diddley) number, was next on the list for the Stones’ treatment and is played in a hard-rocking, non-compromising style. The guitar is the main instrument, supported by harmonica and Ian Stewart on piano. It was a popular stage favourite at their Crawdaddy Club residency in Richmond and was a small concession in attempting to put across some of the more commercial material onto tape in order to secure a recording contract. Their musical upbringing was in jazz clubs where they were used to playing sedate blues. Andrew ‘entrepreneur’ Oldham, who was to become their manager, had his finger on the pulse of youth culture and knew that they had to stop sitting on the bar stools, jazz style, and literally move with the music. They also had to make the music more accessible to the punter by playing more popular tunes. Ironically, on their first British tour as a support act they were to drop all Bo Diddley numbers in deference to the master himself - they found him also on the tour, second on the bill to the Everly Brothers. An IBC Sound Recording acetate exists of Road Runner coupled with Diddley Daddy. It sold for £1,500 in 1988.

20. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY (Reed)
11 March 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

An impressive version of Jimmy Reed’s Bright Lights, Big City. Originally this aforementioned song had been recorded by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Mick Jagger’s co-musicians at the time were Bob Beckwith, Allen Etherington and Dick Taylor. Now with new band members, the song epitomised a young Stones sound - Jagger performing in a relaxed manner while Ian Stewart provided an excellent piano background. The enthusiasm could not be missed by anyone listening.

21. I WANT TO BE LOVED (Dixon)
11 March 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

This was later to be re-recorded for the B-side of the first single Come On. It is a leisurely mix indeed and again instrumentally Ian Stewart and Brian Jones are prominently featured. The song is an authentic Willie Dixon R ‘n’ B standard. Mick Jagger’s vocals are meaningful and interpret the senior blues man’s desires in a way that only the young are able.

22. HONEY WHAT’S WRONG? (Reed, Reed)
11 March 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

This track wraps up the Stones’ first recording session. The IBC sessions, although now famous and much sought after, were considered as a whole far too rough for a commercial release, much to the band’s disappointment. Honey (Baby) What’s Wrong is a meandering-type song and harmonies inspired by Keith Richards leave a lot to be desired. The mix of pop vocals with r ‘n’ b lead guitar and harmonica did not quite mix. Glyn Johns was the producer for the sessions. He was a musician himself and detected the groups’ potential. He had met them at one of their concerts and offered to record them. The band signed a six month deal with IBC to record free of charge. An acetate was made of the sessions and this was touted by IBC amongst the record companies. EMI were one of the companies to reject the tracks - sincerity was detected but the thin production quality and the lack of chart potential caused the end product to be suspect. The band were particularly critical of the lack of bass in the mix and wanted the tracks re-cut. This did not happen. A 10 inch acetate of the five tracks was sold by a friend of Brian Jones at an auction in April 1993.

23. PRETTY THING (McDaniel)
20 April 1963: Place: R G Jones Studio, Morden, London, England.
Producer: Giorgio Gomelsky.
Engineer: R G Jones Junior.
Track status: Unavailable.

24. IT’S ALL RIGHT BABE (McDaniel)
20 April 1963: Place: R G Jones Studio, Morden, London, England.
Producer: Giorgio Gomelsky.
Engineer: R G Jones Junior.
Track status: Unavailable.

Giorgio Gomelsky was the promoter at the Station Hotel in Richmond. The Station Hotel provided an alternative to the Ealing Jazz Club and the Marquee. The Stones were also playing regularly at the Ricky Tick Club at the Star and Garter in Windsor and the Red Lion in Sutton. Giorgio was so enthusiastic about the Stones that he gained them a residency from the 3 March at the Station Hotel on Sunday evenings, fresh after their afternoon session at Ken Colyer’s Studio 51. The Crawdaddy Club (named after the Stones finale song) soon became a local phenomenon. The London hip squad began to take notice, including the press, and membership escalated - dance improvization was rife on the hot sweaty dance floor. Even the Beatles visited the club just before the release of their third single which became their first number one in the UK - From Me To You. Certainly Giorgio’s interest in promoting the Rolling Stones was making him their manager by default, but it was not an official arrangement. His ambitions were big and he attempted to self record a promotional film of the blues scene. The soundtrack was to include Pretty Thing and It’s All Right Babe. These tracks were recorded at the R G Jones Studio. The filming was done the next day on Sunday 21 April. Peter Jones from Record Mirror attended the concert where Pretty Thing and Hey Crawdaddy (the word Craw-Daddy originated from a Bo Diddley-type dance number) were stomping crowd pleasers used at the end of the show as a hypnotic climax. It’s All Right Babe was used as background to the documentary. The film was never completed. At the end of April, Peter Jones tipped off Andrew Oldham and Eric Easton as to what was happening in Richmond. They witnessed the Sunday 28 April performance and while Giorgio Gomelsky was out of the country, Andrew Oldham and Eric Easton signed the group on 1 May 1963. Brian Jones signed the contract on behalf of the other band members.
25. I’M MOVING ON (Snow)
23 April 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Uavailable.

26. I’M A HOG FOR YOU BABY (Leiber, Stoller)
23 April 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Unavailable.

Brian Jones had written to the BBC in January 1963 to request an audition for BBC radio for the Jazz Club show, claiming that ‘in view of the vast increase of interest in rhythm and blues in Britain an exceptionally good future has been predicted for us by many people’. The audition happened on a Tuesday which was not a good day since Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Ian Stewart were working. Ian got the day off and the rhythm section was quickly gained from Cyril Davies’ band, namely Carlo Little and Ricky Brown. The tracks are unavailable and were considered too black and not commercial enough in content for the BBC production panel. The performance was not considered suitable for the BBC purposes. James Phelge in PHELGE’S STONES remembers the band returning from the session generally subdued due to the low key interest shown in the band by the BBC staff. They were not to gain another BBC session until later in September 1963.

27. COME ON (Berry)
10 May 1963: Place: Olympic, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham, Eric Easton.
Engineer: Roger Savage.
Track status: UK Single: 7 June 1963: No 21 - 14 weeks
UK Compilation LP THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS VOL 2: 27 September 1963
UK Compilation LP READY STEADY GO!: 24 January 1964: No 20 - 1 week
UK Compilation LP BIG HITS (HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS): 4 November 1966: No 4 - 43 weeks
UK Compilation LP ROCK ‘N’ ROLLING STONES: 13 October 1972: No 41-1 week
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP ROLLED GOLD: 14 November 1975: No 7 - 50 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

Andrew Oldham and Eric Easton formed a company ‘Impact Sound’ to be the management and recording team behind the Rolling Stones. The contract was signed on 21 May 1963 by Brian Jones (as L B Jones) and Eric Easton for Impact Sound. On 9 May 1963, they had signed their management contract between Brian Jones, Eric Easton and Andrew Loog Oldham. Again, Brian signed himself as L B Jones and Mick Jagger who was described as a student. Andrew talked Brian Jones into returning to IBC, paying them for the time spent in the studio and the return of the tapes, thereby nulling the contract with them. This displeased Glyn Johns who had thought he would be producing the Stones early work. He did not produce them until later in their career when Andrew was off the scene. Andrew booked the Olympic studios for the first recording session on 9 May 1963, the day the management contract was signed. It was agreed that Roger Savage would be the recording engineer. Come On, a Chuck Berry number is played at a frenetic pace, faster than Chuck Berry’s version. Chuck Berry had a number of hits in the USA and UK in the fifties but had not enjoyed chart success in the early sixties. Come On was virtually unknown and to the public it could have been construed as an original. A harmonica guides the track throughout in a rail-road style. The outcome was a very clean recording with clearly defined instrumentation. Ian Stewart although present at the sessions did not contribute to the recording since his microphone had been switched off at Andrew’s instructions, according to Andrew Loog Oldham’s Stoned book. Roger Savage asked Andrew to mix the track thinking that was Andrew’s production role but he left Roger to perform the task. Andrew had more to think about. He needed a record company to sell the product. At the time there were only two major UK recording companies - EMI and Decca. Having been rejected by EMI there was only one more door to knock on. The Decca artiste and repertoire (A & R) man, Dick Rowe, who had previously turned down The Beatles in favour of Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, desperately wanted to rectify this mistake and recover some standing in the music industry. Ironically, Dick Rowe had already been tipped off by George Harrison to sign the band. Andrew Oldham negotiated a shrewd contract enabling the Stones to record independently and then sell the tapes to Decca. Naturally, Decca were not convinced of the Impact Sound and requested that Come On be re-recorded at Decca’s own studios on 18 May. Decca then listened to both versions and agreed to release the original Impact Sound/Roger Savage version. The band themselves were not too convinced of the result created by ‘no mix’ producer Andrew Oldham and sound engineer Roger Savage. To back this up, the song was not played at concerts. The speed of the record was significant - it was too fast to dance to. However, it entered the lower echelons of the UK charts on 25 July 1963 and became their first ‘hit’. The track was included on a THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS compilation of various artists released by Decca in September 1963.

28. I WANT TO BE LOVED (Dixon)
10 May 1963: Place: Olympic, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham, Eric Easton.
Engineer: Roger Savage.
Track status: UK Single: B-side Come On: 7 June 1963
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

The Olympic version of I want To Be Loved is a faster guitar boogie than the original demo take and is also polished by a crisp quality studio finish. Again the harmonica is used extensively and is featured in the instrumental break. The release of the single, of which this was the flipside, was coupled by an appearance on the acclaimed Thank Your Lucky Stars TV show, where both sides were featured. As a result, a modest chart entry ensued. The TV recording is famous for the appealing chequered suits, an image they attempted hastily to reject. In order to project the Stones on camera, Andrew Oldham also decided that Ian Stewart should not accompany the others in publicity features as he had a somewhat staid appearance. The Stones, were starting to feel their way up the pop ladder by such compromises, whilst managing to retain their musical integrity.

29. POISON IVY (Leiber, Stoller)
18 August 1963: Place: Decca, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham, Michael Barclay.
Track status: UK Compilation LP SATURDAY CLUB: 24 January 1964

Throughout June, July and August while Come On was having modest chart success, the Rolling Stones were virtually playing every night on the local residency circuit of the Ricky Tick Club Windsor, Eel Pie Island Twickenham and Ken Colyer’s Studio 51, but increasingly odd gigs were being booked further afield. On 11 August 1963 they played the ‘3rd National Jazz Festival’ and got paid £30 for their performance. The Stones used the Ken Collyer Club to rehearse material for their next recording. They were eager to capitalize on their recent chart position with Come On. After a lot of internal conflict, they compromised and decided to record a Coaster’s song: I’m A Hog For You Baby was considered but they settled for Poison Ivy. The song is a little rushed and suffers also from muffled studio problems. It was commercially viable but lacked the quality necessary to be a follow-up to Come On. Decca had attempted to use Michael Barclay again at the session, an idea which failed miserably because Michael did not hit it off with the band. The Stones and Andrew Oldham were exasperated and Decca were positively fuming but it was worth being patient. Decca went as far as issuing a catalogue number of F11742 before the proposed single was scrapped. Two mixes are available, one on the SATURDAY CLUB album and a second with alternative percussion on the US MORE HOT ROCKS release. Andrew Oldham started to search frantically for a follow-up. He was aware that other popular groups, notably The Beatles, were recording their own songs and he pressurised Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to do the same.

30. FORTUNE TELLER (Neville)
18 August 1963: Place: Decca, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham, Michael Barclay.
Track status: UK Compilation LP SATURDAY CLUB: 24 January 1964
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks

Credited to Naomi Neville but some say written by Allen Toussaint, Fortune Teller was intended to be the B-side of Poison Ivy, but due to the non-release of this single, it was only made available to the public via a compilation album of the BBC’s radio programme ‘Saturday Club’. The song was extensively produced to give it a commercial ring. There were background vocal ‘ah-ah’s’ and an accompanying harmonica on the SATURDAY CLUB release while the mix for MORE HOT ROCKS lacks the harmonica. Charlie Watts drums crash during the tracks bridges. While naivety in musicians can be turned into spontaneity, when producers and engineers are also inexperienced in pop technique, as in this case, the end result loses its potential. It was not as sweet as the American funk the Stones were attempting to imitate. However, it was not to be long before such problems were overcome.

31. MONEY (Gordy Junior, Bradford.)
23 September 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Unavailable.

32. TALKIN’ ABOUT YOU (Berry)
23 September 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Unavailable.

33. COME ON (Berry)
23 September 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

34. MEMPHIS TENNESSEE (Berry)
23 September 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

35. ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN (Berry)
23 September 1963: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Television and especially radio played an important part in broadcasting and promoting the early ‘sixties rock-and-roll message. As much as anything playing live on radio was proof that any recording was genuine. The BBC production team at Saturday Club, Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews were anxious to get the Stones on the show. This time the production team approved the audition tape. Following the recording Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts backed Bo Diddley for his radio session transmitted on 5 October. They had come a long way since both being influenced by ‘fifties icon Johnny Ray. They played on Bo Diddley, Road Runner, Pretty Thing and Hey Bo Diddley. The above tracks are testimony to the Stones’ affiliation with Chuck Berry and were recorded for a ‘Saturday Club’ radio broadcast on 26 October 1963. Memphis Tennessee and Roll Over Beethoven are notable as they have not been released on record. The Stones rock on all the Berry numbers despite Ian Stewart’s piano again missing from the session. British beat music in the form of R ‘n’ B was ready to blossom and take over the ‘boring’ pop market! Come On is played at more of a relaxed pace and compares very favourably with the single version. At the end of September, following the BBC recording, the Stones embarked on their first UK tour supporting the Everly Brothers. This tour extended for the whole of October and offered two shows a day with only three or four days of rest. It was a great chance to fine tune their act and also witness the theatrical antics of co-support acts such as Little Richard and Bo Diddley who were brought in to increase ticket sales. Such was the success that on 21 November 1963, Robert Stigwood signed the band for a four week February 1964 tour at a fee of £1,000 per week.
36. I WANNA BE YOUR MAN (Lennon, McCartney)
7 October 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK Single: 1 November 1963: No 12 - 16 weeks
USA Promo Single: November 1963
UK Compilation LP READY STEADY GO!: 24 January 1964: No 20 - 1 week
USA B-side Not Fade Away: 6 March 1964
UK Compilation LP ROLLED GOLD: 14 November 1975: No 7 - 50 weeks
UK Compilation LP GET STONED - 30 GREATEST HITS, 30 ORIGINAL TRACKS: 21 October 1977: No 13 - 15 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

The Stones, Andrew Oldham and Decca, having considered and refused the Poison Ivy single, sought a follow-up to Come On. In mid-September 1963, Andrew Oldham bumped into John Lennon and Paul McCartney following a Variety Club awards ceremony they had attended at the Savoy. Andrew complained at the lack of suitable material for the Stones’ second single release. John and Paul thought that they might be able to help. They were in the middle of recording their second album and had an unfinished R ‘n’ B song that was an instant hit! Andrew took them into Ken Colyer’s club, Studio 51 where he knew the Stones were practising and performing later. The bass and electric guitars were handed over to the Liverpool duo and Charlie provided a back beat to the first verse and chorus. Bill Wyman remembers in STONE ALONE how amazed he was to witness Paul playing his bass backwards since Paul is left-handed. The Stones liked the feel of the song and so John and Paul disappeared into another room to finish it off. Much to everyone’s surprise, they returned a few minutes later, with the finished product. Probably more than anything this song-writing adeptness inspired the Stones to write their own songs and the royalties would be helpful too! Two weeks later, after personalising the song with slide guitar, the Stones entered Kingsway Studios. From the opening chords the song is pure high-energy. Bill Wyman hits a hard-driving bass, and Keith Richards and Brian Jones deliver electrifying lead guitar with a tight, relaxed solo by Keith. The foundations had been laid for the Stones to establish their potential on the unassuming public by this gift from The Beatles and, indeed, the single reached Number 12 in the UK charts. It was released as a promo only single in the United States and was not fully released either because of a potential lack of sales or the fact that the contentious Stoned was on the B-side. On Wednesday, 1 January 1964, in a disused Manchester Church converted into a TV studio, the Stones (introduced by Jimmy Saville) promoted the single on the very first screening of a new BBC music programme, simply titled ‘Top of The Pops’ - and so two musical legends were born. I Wanna Be Your Man was released again in the United States as the flip side of their first US single in March 1964, but sales were poor and it failed to chart. It was coupled with Not Fade Away.

37. STONED (Nanker, Phelge)
Also Known As: STONES
7 October 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK B-side I Wanna Be Your Man: 1 November 1963
USA Promo B-side I Wanna Be Your Man: November 1963
UK Compliation LP NO STONE UNTURNED: 5 October 1973
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

Twelve bar improvisation provided the so-called retake of Booker T and the MG’s Green Onions. It is basically an instrumental with Mick Jagger occasionally uttering ‘stoned’ followed by ‘outta my mind’. Well, it was the end of a hard session! It is the very first song, albeit plagiarized, written by the group to end up on a single, which meant royalties were split amongst the band. The writers of the track were stated as ‘Nanker, Phelge’ and this pseudonym was to be used for future group-written songs. The title originates from publicity shots where they put their fingers up their noses and pulled their eyelids down (a nanker) and Phelge, their flat friend, who had a dubious habit of wearing his stained underpants on his head. The first few hundred copies of this single were entitled ‘Stones’ and copies of these are now collectors’ items. An out-take or a BBC Radio session can be obtained which features even more prominently the piano work of Ian Stewart and echoed, stoned vocals. James Phelge recalls in PHELGE’S STONES the time that he was shown the single and was asked to look at the flip side. All he could see was the song title Stoned - it was not until he was prompted that he saw the songwriter - Nanker, Phelge. James looked at their broad smiles and was proud that they had recognised his indirect contribution. In order to gain song-writing rights for Stoned, Eric Easton used Southern Music, not offering to admit that this was a company that he was already involved with, increasing his pay back. The contract dated 11 October 1963 was between Southern Music Publishing Company Ltd. and Mick Jagger and the rest of the band known as ‘Nanker Phelge’. Bill Wyman signed himself as W. Perks. Andrew Loog Oldham in Stoned acknowledged that a few more songs were published that way before the band realised and that essentially in 1964, Eric Easton’s deception, caused him to be no longer directly involved.

38. YOU BETTER MOVE ON (Alexander)
14-15 November 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK EP THE ROLLING STONES: 10 January 1964
USA LP DECEMBER’S CHILDREN: 4 December 1965: No 4 - 22 weeks
UK Compilation LP THROUGH THE PAST DARKLY (BIG HITS VOL 2): 12 September 1969: No 2 - 37 weeks

Inspired by such luminaries as The Drifters, a song in a similar vein, written by Arthur Alexander, was recorded at the Kingsway Studios. Using an acoustic guitar played ballad-style by Brian Jones, it became an instant Stones’ classic and was lapped up by the fans. It soon became popular at their concerts and was released early in 1964. Plaintive and charged with emotion, this track received the most airplay on track one of side two of the EP. The EP produced by Impact Sound (Eric Easton and Andrew Oldham) soon outsold their previous two chart entries.

39. BYE BYE JOHNNY (Berry)
14-15 November 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK EP THE ROLLING STONES: 10 January 1964
UK Compilation LP ROCK ‘N’ ROLLING STONES: 13 October 1972: No 41 - 1 week
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks

Keith Richards picks his fingers almost as nimbly through this song as did his hero Chuck Berry. He certainly copies the master’s licks and the rest of the Stones rock along in fine style. Keith was asked to comment on Chuck Berry and stated, ‘To me, Chuck Berry always was the epitome of rhythm & blues playing, rock & roll playing. It was beautiful, effortless, and his timing was perfection. He is rhythm man supreme. He plays that lovely double-string stuff, which I got down a long time ago but I’m still getting the hang of. Later I realized why he played that way-because of the sheer physical size of the guy. I mean, he makes one of those big Gibsons look like a ukulele!’ It is a worthy contribution to their first EP and begins to show the potential of Mick Jagger’s vocals. The release of this EP followed the I Wanna Be Your Man single and ensured a continued spotlight in the charts, so much so that in the EP charts it was to remain there for the rest of they year. The sleeve notes commented, ‘Their approach to their music is far closer to the brash, hard-driving Chicago style rhythm and blues than the majority of the groups currently riding the beat wagon...’ It proved the Stones’ popularity and they were soon to enter a studio to record their first album.

40. MONEY (Gordy Junior, Bradford)
14-15 November 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK EP THE ROLLING STONES: 10 January 1964
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP NO STONE UNTURNED: 5 October 1973

Mick Jagger remembered buying the 1960 American hit version by Barrett Strong and decided it could be worked upon for the English market. He was not the only one inspired by the song because The Beatles had recorded it in July for inclusion on their second LP, WITH THE BEATLES, which was subsequently released in November 1963. During the same month Bern Elliott and the Fenmen were at Number 14 in the UK charts with this Berry Gordy, Janice Bradford song and remained in the charts for 13 weeks. It emphasized the point that song-writers were few and far between at that juncture in pop culture. The Stones created a loose feel to the track, but Brian Jones managed to hold it together by his excellent harmonica playing. Mick’s vocals are a little undisciplined as though he needs some kind of restraint for his up-front voice. Considering it was only their second or third venture into a recording studio, The Rolling Stones were beginning to fuse into a tight unit.

41. POISON IVY (Leiber, Stoller)
14-15 November 1963: Place: De Lane Lea Studios, Kingsway, London, England.
Producer: Eric Easton, Andrew Oldham.
Track status: UK EP THE ROLLING STONES: 10 January 1964
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP NO STONE UNTURNED: 5 October 1973

The previous recorded version of this song was the track destined to be the second UK single but later cancelled because of the poor sound quality. The Stones were still insistent that they wanted to record a version of Poison Ivy and this track therefore ended up on the UK EP released in January 1964. It is taken at a more leisurely pace than the first recording and overall is far superior in texture, even the annoying washboard type ticking had been extracted and basic harmony vocals deployed at strategic places (Keith Richards’ idea). It contains an extra repeated verse at the end.

42. WILL YOU BE MY LOVER TONIGHT? (Jagger, Richard)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Unavailable.

One of the earliest Jagger, Richard compositions. Andrew Oldham was always after new talent provided the look was right. George Bean was someone who hung around Andrew’s scene and he sang on the backing track created by the Stones. It was not released.

43. SHANG A DOO LANG (Jagger, Richard)
20-21 November 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Understandably not Stones material, but a potential bubble gum pop hit. It was a demo for a young teenage artiste Adrienne Poster and was recorded as her second single in March 1964.

44. THAT GIRL BELONGS TO YESTERDAY (Richards, Jagger)
Also Known As: MY ONLY GIRL
20-21 November 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Unavailable.
On 17 November and 22 November, respectively, the band lip-synched a performance of I Wanna Be Your Man for the Thank Your Lucky Stars TV programme in Birmingham and also Ready, Steady, Go! in London. Gene Pitney was there to promote his Burt Bacharach hit Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa. Gene remembers being in the same dressing room as the Stones when a man appeared at the door way. Gene thought he recognised him and asked if he was Mr. Mancini. It was the great composer Henry Mancini who had gone to the studios to see what all these youngsters were up to; he was not going to miss a trick. Andrew Oldham was impressed that Gene had worked with Phil Spector on his second USA hit Every Breath I Take and also the Oscar nominated movie soundtrack, Town Without Pity. Gene had first met Phil Spector in 1962. Gene was an up and coming songwriter and performer. He heard the Crystals and was determined to write a song for them. This he did with He’s A Rebel. He took it to his publisher’s office in New York and Phil walked in, heard the first eight bars and his eyes lit up and a classic pop song was born. They both proceeded to seal the deal at a 7th Avenue Chinese restaurant. At the TV studios, Andrew in his typical style, hassled Gene into agreeing that Andrew could be his UK publicist and so another link in the chain was created. As a result, Gene recorded the Richards (with s and before Mick in the credits), Jagger composition That Girl Belongs To Yesterday. The original tune was called My Only Girl and intended for George Bean but Gene changed the melody, left the lyrics as they were and recorded it for himself. It was released in March 1964 and reached number seven in the charts. This was the first time a Jagger, Richards song had gone top ten in the UK.

45. LEAVE ME ALONE (Jagger, Richard)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Unavailable.

An up-tempo piano based track.

46. SURE I DO (Jones)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Unavailable.

A Brian Jones penned number recorded by the Stones, but not available. It is said to feature Brian on vocals. Gene Pitney was asked by Andrew Oldham to give Brian help and advice but ultimately Brian was too scared to put forward his songs for recording in case he was ridiculed by the rest of the band. Gene confirms today that no actual song-writing took place with him and Brian, it was simply advice that was offered.

47. SO MUCH IN LOVE (Jagger, Richard)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

A Jagger, Richard tune that was eventually released by the Mighty Avengers. It became their only hit charting at number 46 in the UK charts in November 1964. An out-take is available of the Stones demo.

48. GIVE ME YOUR HAND (Jagger, Richard)
Also Known As: I’LL HOLD YOUR HAND
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

The Stones wanted to return the favour to the Beatles for their second single hit, I Wanna Be Your Man. Give Me Your Hand was given to the Beatles but was not recorded, there is a strong resemblance to the next Beatles’ number one (December 1963) hit I Wanna Hold Your Hand. They had already recorded I Wanna Hold Your Hand on 19 October and it was released on 29 November 1963.

49. I WANT YOU TO KNOW (Jagger, Richard, Jones.)
Also Known As: NO ONE KNOWS
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Another early attempt by Brian Jones, destroyed by false female background vocals. The bootleg of which this is a part is a compendium of out-takes, most of the cuts lasting a few bars or even a few seconds, thereby the true song contents can not be fully commented upon. It was cut on to an acetate by itself but copies of these are extremely rare.

50. WHEN A GIRL LOVES A BOY (Jagger, Richard.)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

The chorus has a passing resemblance to Susan Maughan’s Bobby’s Girl recorded in 1962.

51. YOU MUST BE THE ONE (Jagger, Richard.)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Recorded by the Greenbeats but failed to chart when released in November 1964. It had potential.
52. IT SHOULD BE YOU (Jagger, Richard)
20-21 November, 7 December 1963: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Another track recorded for the late George Bean, but he was unable to bring any credibility to it, the lyrics being repetitive and the tune very basic. It was obvious that their creativity lay in R ‘n’ B and not contemporary pop songs. The ultimate aim, of course, was to mould the two.

53. TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM (Spector)
2 January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham. Musical Director: Mike Leander.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK Single: January 1964
Rolling Stones with Cleo Sylvester.

Andrew Oldham used the Stones as the backing band for his next protégé Cleo Sylvester. She had auditioned for the band back in the Bricklayer Arms days. To Know Him Is To Love Him was a hit for the Teddy Bears in 1958 and was Phil Spector’s first hit as group member/producer. It became a million seller. It was a fitting track to be recorded by Andrew trying to emulate the Spector magic, the song was released simply under the name Cleo but failed to chart.

54. THERE ARE BUT FIVE ROLLING STONES (Leander, Oldham.)
2 January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham. Musical Director: Mike Leander.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK B-side To Know Him Is To Love Him: January 1964

Phil Spector, in order to focus the radio stations on the A side, usually included an instrumental on the B side. Andrew Oldham copied this technique but went one step further and used it to promote his main band. The track title more than hints at the backing artists. The instrumental was credited to the session producer Mike Leander and Andrew himself. It was a B Bumble & The Stingers type instrumental featuring the piano work of Ian Stewart some nifty clap back and a guitar break at the end. The production style was more inspired by Kim Fowley who had written the number one instrumental Nut Rocker by B Bumble & The Stingers. The rest of January 1964 was spent by The Rolling Stones touring the UK with the famous Ronettes. It was their second major UK tour and ensured that they were becoming a household name throughout the UK and not just in the London home counties.

55. ROUTE 66 (Troup)
3 January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
USA Compilation LP THE ROLLING STONES - PROMOTIONAL ALBUM: October 1969
UK Compilation LP ROCK ‘N’ ROLLING STONES: 13 October 1972: No 41 - 1 week

In January 1964 in between the Ronette’s tour the Stones started work on their first album simply titled THE ROLLING STONES, which featured on the cover a simple but effective David Bailey photograph of the five staring from a darkened background, plus the Decca logo. Route 66 written by the late Bobby Troup gets the album off to a rousing start. Keith Richards plays an excellent guitar with a tight clap-back track rhythm by Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. It soon became a popular stage number. Later in June, on the same bill as Bobby Vee, The Chiffons, Bobby Goldsboro and Bobby Comstock, the Stones kicked-off on the first date of their first American tour. The town was San Bernardino and the lyrics of Route 66 mention San Bernardino, an unintentional way to win the fans over, who were jiving and bopping in the aisles. Security police, a feature of that tour at some venues, went onto the stage and pushed over-exuberant fans back to their seats. At other gigs the shows were not sold out, particularly in the middle of the country, but the word was spreading.

56. I NEED YOU BABY (MONA) (McDaniel)
Also Known As: MONA
3 January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP THE ROLLING STONES NOW!: 12 February 1965: No 5 - 29 weeks

Otherwise known as Mona, this is yet another inspired copy of a Bo Diddley number where the shuffle beat runs rife throughout the song. The Stones were beginning to prove that they were not only marketing figure-heads but also adequate musicians. Keith Richards was learning to improvise on every guitar lick in the R ‘n’ B catalogue and his understanding with Brian Jones created a tight rhythm. They often said that the reason for their success was the unique rhythm they were able to produce. They were both able to play lead if required, but could fall back into playing ensemble and then play licks off each other. Mona is such a number where Brian particularly excels in emulating the Diddley off beat. Surprisingly, the track was extracted from the American release of the album and replaced by Not Fade Away.

57. CAROL (Berry)
3 January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP ROLLED GOLD: 14 November 1975: No 7 - 50 weeks

The riff recasts Chuck Berry’s original song and produces one of the album’s barnstormers. Keith Richards had an unnerving ability continuously to improve his guitar virtuosity. It worried someone like Brian Jones who, although extremely competent, tended to reach a peak on an instrument and then use his musical versatility quickly to master another. This is perhaps why the Stones fused together so well - their characters were diversified but as a unit their musical interpretation was superb. Ian Stewart referred to them as the ‘three chord wonders’. The Stones were all soloists in their own right, but first played for each other as a band. Such was the popularity of Carol as a live song that it resurfaced in 1970 on the Stones’ first official live LP, GET YER YA-YA’S OUT.

58. NOT FADE AWAY (Petty, Hardin alias Norman Petty and Buddy Holly)
10, 28 January, 4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK Single: 21 February 1964: No 3 - 15 weeks
USA Single: 6 March 1964
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
USA Compilation LP BIG HITS (HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS): March 1966: No 3 - 35 weeks
UK Compilation LP BIG HITS (HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS): 4 November 1966: No 4 - 43 weeks
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP ROLLED GOLD: 14 November 1975: No 7 - 50 weeks
UK Compilation LP GET STONED - 30 GREATEST HITS, 30 ORIGINAL TRACKS: 21 October 1977: No 13 - 15 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989
UK CD LP FORTY LICKS: 30 September 2002
USA CD LP FORTY LICKS: 1 October 2002
Rolling Stones with Gene Pitney, Phil Spector.

From the opening bars Keith Richards on his acoustic guitar gave the song its feel and instant appeal. Keith had been improvising on this Buddy Holly song at his Willesden flat which he shared with Mick Jagger and Andrew Oldham. Andrew recognised its potential and declared that he considered that the song’s style was perfect for the Stones. Keith had conceived the sound and revamped the riff back to the rawness of the Bo Diddley rhythm which Buddy Holly had originally copied. The song had been turned upside-down and in January following a London show with the Ronettes they returned to the studios to produce a Stones classic. Not Fade Away was the logical extension to what they had previously attempted on I Need You Baby (Mona). From the all-important opening bars the atmosphere was right and within a breath-taking two minutes the basis of the track was complete. The harmonica playing of Brian Jones is full of energy and Phil Spector’s ‘manic maracas’ create an exciting rhythm track. Andrew Oldham in Stoned revealed that the maracas were in fact an empty cognac bottle with an American dime in it. Phil Spector’s and Gene Pitney’s (possible - he can not precisely recall to this day if he contributed to Not Fade Away) presence on the final overdubs at a session on 4 February obviously influenced Andrew Oldham’s production and the sound quality was the best he had achieved so far. One wonders if Mick Jagger recalled, a few years previously, viewing with Dick Taylor an impressive performance by Buddy Holly of Not Fade Away at the Woolwich Granada?

59. I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU (Dixon)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
USA B-side Tell Me: 19 June 1964
UK Compilation LP ROCK ‘N’ ROLLING STONES: 13 October 1972: No 41 - 1 week
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

The album is generally a mixture of American soul, Chuck Berry rock ‘n’ roll, Stones R ‘n’ B and inspirational blues. I Just Want To Make Love To You does not seem to fall into any category. Willie Dixon’s delta blues song seems to have been misinterpreted and is driven home in a fast blues, Bo Diddley-type, rhythm manner. Mick Jagger is unable to bring feeling to the vocals at such a pace. Instrumentally, the song is fine, it just seems to be driven too close to the safety barriers. Brian Jones was the harmonica player, a role he is not often credited for. Producer Andrew ‘Loog’ (a family name) Oldham was an expert at pushing sensitivity to the limit. His sleeve notes on the reverse of the album cover show a certain controlled arrogance ‘The Rolling Stones are more than just a group - they are a way of life’.

60. HONEST I DO (Reed)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks

Jimmy Reed was an artist who inspired the Stones to promote the blues gospel. This was their first public release of a Reed song although they had previously recorded the unreleased Bright Lights Big City. They managed to do justice to the work and produced a song deep in feeling, laid back in approach and charged with atmosphere. The song plods forward positively and Brian Jones plays beautiful harp to accompany Mick Jagger’s gutsy vocals.

61. I’M A KING BEE (Moore)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks

I’m A King Bee was another straight copy. It surprised Mick Jagger that the public could listen to a pale imitation when the genuine Slim Harpo version was available. Modesty indeed. King Bee revolves around Mick’s powerfully accentuated blues dialect. He spits out the sexual innuendoes and when the vocals turn to stinging around the honey hive, Keith Richards drags out a riff at the bottom of the fret board to deliver the shadowed message.

62. TELL ME (YOU’RE COMING BACK) (Jagger, Richard)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
USA Single: 19 June 1964: No 24 - 5 weeks
USA Compilation LP BIG HITS (HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS): March 1966: No 3 - 35 weeks
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP GET STONED - 30 GREATEST HITS, 30 ORIGINAL TRACKS: 21 October 1977: No 13 - 15 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

The longest track on the album and the most controversial. It was the first Jagger, Richard composition to be released and is essentially an experimental song, although fans of Doris Troy may have heard a similarity to Whatcha Gonna Do About It released on her 1963 album, JUST ONE LOOK. The make-up of the song was club-based and it gradually built itself up on the eight-track to a cut that was passable for release. The influences on the song stemmed from commercial-type Beatles songs and their Merseyside counterparts. Surprisingly, it was later edited to become the Stones’ second American single. Further, it sprang up to a commendable Number 24 in the USA Billboard charts. Tell Me plays on the same heart-strings as You Better Move On and manages to cross over into the pop mainstream. There are two versions of Tell Me, with or without piano. First copies of the UK album were pressed without piano and are a short version. Later, the standard long version with piano replaced this error. Also the USA single has a shortened, edited version of the track with piano. This is the same track on the USA album.

63. YOU CAN MAKE IT IF YOU TRY (Jarrett)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks

A slow, hollering blues song led by Mick Jagger’s pleading vocals. Ian Stewart plays a gospel-type organ and Keith Richards and Brian Jones strum on acoustic guitars. The album as a whole was an immediate success and even knocked The Beatles off the top of the UK charts on 2 May 1964. It remained at the top for 12 weeks, only to be replaced by the release of the next Beatles album, A HARD DAY’S NIGHT. Based on the 51 weeks in the charts, it was their most successful album ever. The blitz by the Stones had begun. While 1963 was the year of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones replaced them in the popularity polls in 1964. The British rock revolution had started.

64. WALKING THE DOG (Thomas)
29 January-February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
USA Compilation LP THE ROLLING STONES - PROMOTIONAL ALBUM: October 1969

The first Rolling Stones’ album in Britain did not produce any single releases, but tracks released in other countries proved very popular. Walking The Dog was belatedly released in 1965 in Australia and jumped to the Number 3 position. The Number 1 and 2 positions were also held by the Stones, a feat rarely achieved even now by the most popular of the pop and rock and roll fraternity. Walking The Dog is a humorous Rufus Thomas song, complete with dog call whistles. It is given the Stones’ fast R ‘n’ B treatment and is a high point on the album. There is a controlled rowdiness under the surface, which is only once released when Keith Richards delivers a fine guitar solo. Brian Jones was on backing vocals. ‘England’s Greatest Hit Makers’ were expressing their identities and at the same time the aforementioned title was used for the Stateside album release.

65. OH I DO LIKE TO SEE ME ON THE B-SIDE (Oldham, Watts, Wyman.)
January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham. Musical Director: Mike Leander.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK B-side Single 365 Rolling Stones (One For Each Day Of The Year): 10 April 1964
Rolling Stones with Eric Ford, Andy White, Reg Guest.

66. 365 ROLLING STONES (ONE FOR EACH DAY OF THE YEAR) (Oldham, Leander)
January 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham. Musical Director: Mike Leander.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK Single: 10 April 1964.
Rolling Stones with Eric Ford, Andy White, Reg Guest.

Recorded in January 1964, some of the Stones helped Andrew Oldham out on some tracks that would end up on mostly B sides. Eric Ford (guitar), Andy White (drums) and Reg Guest (piano) were also to feature on the tracks. They were all from the Nashville 5 who also included Jim Sullivan and Alan Weighle. An instrumental song was released as a single by the The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra on 10 April 1964. In order to create some mystique that the Stones were involved it was given the title, 365 Rolling Stones (One For Each Day Of The Year). It became the soundtrack for Ready Steady Go! the ITV television programme launched to combat BBC’s Top Of The Pops. Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman certainly appeared on the B side, Oh, I Do Like To See Me On the B Side, a pastiche on I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside. A Bill Wyman penned song, Funky And Fleopatra ended up on the B-side of Jeannie and The Redheads classic (!) Animal Duds.

67. DON’T LIE TO ME (Berry)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

68. YOU BETTER MOVE ON (Alexander)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

69. I WANNA BE YOUR MAN (Lennon, McCartney)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

70. MONA (McDaniel)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

71. WALKING THE DOG (Thomas)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

72. BYE BYE JOHNNY (Berry)
3 February 1964: Place: BBC Radio, London, England.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Their second BBC session was for the Saturday Club and was hosted by Brian Matthew. It consisted of a couple of tracks from their EP that had just been released, their last single I Wanna Be Your Man, two tracks from their yet to be released album, Mona and Walking The Dog and a stage Chuck Berry tune, Don’t Lie To Me. The latter was a quick run through of a stage favourite and enabled the crowd to get up and dance. You Better Move On with its early attempts of background vocals, Walking The Dog has a variation on the usual guitar solo, concluding with a fun run-through of an old Chuck Berry favourite...its pace is faster than the original released British EP track, as ever the lead guitar wheels the song down the highway in the fast lane. Chuck Berry must have been quaking in his winkle-pickers! The session was broadcast on 8 February 1964.

73. LITTLE BY LITTLE (Phelge, Spector)
4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley
Track status: UK B-side Not Fade Away: 21 February 1964.
UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989
Rolling Stones with Phil Spector, Gene Pitney.

The 4 February session was intended to complete the Not Fade Away single and to provide a B-side, since Decca were anxious to release a follow up single. The session apparently did not start well - the band were a bit jaded and were not talking to each other. Andrew Oldham rang Gene Pitney and told him he needed help because the band ‘hated’ each other. Gene and Phil Spector had both been travelling in Europe and returned from Paris for an overnight stop before returning to the United States. Gene arrived at the studio and was followed later by Phil who discretely arrived in a big black Rolls Royce. There were the obligatory bottles of spirit brought from France. It was nearly Gene’s birthday and he said it was a family custom to drink cognac. The refreshments did the trick and revived a flagging session and Gene helped out on piano. Two of the Hollies, Allan Clarke and Graham Nash accompanied the Stones on backing vocals and Phil, eager to help, grabbed Mick’s maracas. Little By Little was similar to Now I’ve Got A Witness for Phil Spector was there to add his prowess as a co-writer with the group (Phelge). While obviously a strong influence in the studio, production was firmly in the hands of Andrew Oldham (at least in name). Phil Spector created an ambience in the studio and a spirit, perhaps due to the empty bottles of cognac, which was hard to emulate. As a result, the Stones, with the maestro, created a ‘wall of noise’ as opposed to the famed ‘wall of sound’ which Spector had created with the Crystals and Ronettes. Listen to the high screams in the background. Little By Little is a composition made up of selections from various parts of Jimmy Reed’s Shame, Shame, Shame. It is essentially a 12 bar blues jam session made after the successful recording of Not Fade Away the same night, but it is one which does not allow the looseness of the gathering to infiltrate the song, written by Phil Spector and Mick Jagger in the darkened corridors of the IBC Studios. Gene recalls how small the studio actually was, hence the need to step outside the studio. Phil plays maracas with Ian Stewart and Gene is on the piano. The session was back on course.

74. CAN I GET A WITNESS (Holland, Dozier, Holland)
4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks

Marvin Gaye had previously recorded this Motown classic and Andrew Oldham, keen to establish the band in a more pop-orientated mould, decided Can I Get A Witness was a suitable song for inclusion on the album. Consequently, Mick Jagger rushed down to the nearest music shop and bought the song sheet to the Holland, Dozier, Holland hit. Ian Stewart pounds out the basic chords and Mick Jagger contributes particularly up-front vocals.

75. NOW I’VE GOT A WITNESS (LIKE UNCLE PHIL AND UNCLE GENE) (Phelge)
4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK LP THE ROLLING STONES: 17 April 1964: No 1 - 51 weeks
USA LP ENGLAND’S NEWEST HITMAKERS: May 1964: No 11 - 12 weeks
Rolling Stones with Phil Spector, Gene Pitney.

Following the recording of Can I Get A Witness, Phil Spector again offered his production expertise and Gene Pitney played on Ian Stewart’s prized piano on a basic re-working of Can I Get a Witness. It is said the inclusion of the track was to fill up the album, due to lack of authentic material. Ian Stewart, having given away the piano to Uncle Gene, plays very prominent organ with Brian Jones on outstanding harp complementing the prime drive of Ian. Keith Richards then sways into the song trading Chuck Berry chords whilst Mick Jagger hits the tambourine rhythmically on his gyrating hip. Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts create the basis for the jam.

76. ANDREW’S BLUES (Phelge, Spector)
Also Known As: AND THE ROLLING STONES MET PHIL AND GENE, FUCKIN’ ANDREW, SONG FOR ANDREW
4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: Bootleg only.
Rolling Stones with Phil Spector, Gene Pitney, Allan Clarke, Graham Nash.

The session continued with this whimsical ditty, its lyrical content was a little too shocking for public release. This is the reason for it only being available on bootleg. It comprises of verses which generally describe Andrew Oldham’s imagined sexual exploits with nursery-rhyme heroes Jack and Jill, and mimicry of the then Chairman of Decca Records. He describes Phil Spector, who cried, ‘The Rolling Stones are a load of shit, but now that I’ve heard them, I know they’re a load of shit!’. A load of fun and generally a good ‘Mick-take’. To this day, Gene Pitney recalls with fondness the good fun and the ‘pornographic’ overtones of this track. On the METAMORPHOSIS album sleeve notes, Gene (and Phil Spector, Allan Clarke and Graham Nash) is thanked for his contribution. This relates to Andrew’s Blues which was planned to be released on the NECROPHILIA compilation project. Andrew Oldham had written the sleeve notes which ended up on METAMORPHOSIS. A 1964 acetate of Not Fade Away backed by the politely named Song For Andrew exists.

77. MR SPECTOR AND MR PITNEY CAME TOO (Phelge, Spector)
4 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: Bootleg only.
Rolling Stones with Phil Spector, Gene Pitney, Allan Clarke, Graham Nash.

This track perfectly encapsulates the uniqueness of the session. Laughter at the beginning and someone shouts (possibly Ronnie Ronette), ‘I’ve never recorded before.’ A false piano intro was laughed at before Phil Spector takes control and starts it off with a 1-2, a 1-2-3-4. The band charge in with an infectious assault of r ‘n’ b. Harmonica, boogie piano and lead guitars and that bottle chiming in the background provide an alternate take to Now I’ve Got A Witness.

78. OVER YOU (Toussaint, Orange)
25 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: Unavailable.

Again, another track possibly from this session. It is not available as a bootleg but turned up in 1995 on a 1964 Regent Sound acetate in an auction. It was an ‘A’ side with Good Times, Bad Times on the flip. It was recorded by Neville Toussaint in 1960, it failed to chart - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap had chart success with it in 1968.

79. GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES (Jagger, Richard)
25 February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: UK B-side: It’s All Over Now: 26 June 1964
USA B-side: It’s All Over Now: July 1964
USA LP 12 X 5: 23 October 1964: No 3 - 20 weeks
USA Compilation LP BIG HITS (HIGH TIDE AND GREEN GRASS): March 1966: No 3 - 35 weeks
USA Compilation LP MORE HOT ROCKS (BIG HITS & FAZED COOKIES): 1 December 1972: No 9 - 12 weeks
UK Compilation LP GET STONED - 30 GREATEST HITS, 30 ORIGINAL TRACKS: 21 October 1977: No 13 - 15 weeks
UK & USA LP THE ROLLING STONES SINGLES COLLECTION - THE LONDON YEARS: 15 August 1989

A blues song fit for any Andrew Oldham ‘anthology’ compilation, it strides along purposefully. Mick Jagger spreads his lips and illustrates the need for placing more trust in the world. The writing duo were beginning to broaden their horizons. The group at that time were being forcefully led by Andrew Oldham’s well-oiled publicity machine, which was laying the rock foundations and creating a group the exact antithesis of The Beatles. The Stones were the group the parents loved to hate. Andrew even had a press name for Charlie Watts, calling him the ‘Beau Brummell’ for his good dress sense. The Press acceded to Andrew Oldham’s strategy with stories of a headmaster who had suspended pupils for imitating the Stones’ unruly mops and requested that they had them styled neatly like The Beatles. The Daily Mirror headline read, ‘Beatle Your Rolling Stone Hair’. The pressure was mounting, but still they played the blues and there were ‘good times, bad times’.

80. SUSIE Q (Hawkins, Lewis, Broadwater)
February 1964: Place: Regent, IBC, London, England.
Producer: Andrew Oldham.
Engineer: Bill Farley.
Track status: USA LP 12 X 5: 23 October 1964: No 3 - 20 weeks
UK LP THE ROLLING STONES NO 2: 30 January 1965: No 1 - 37 weeks
USA Compilation LP THE ROLLING STONES - PROMOTIONAL ALBUM: October 1969

From Charlie Watts’ opening beat, this track is full of R ‘n’ B spirit. It seems to be a mod ‘work out’ featuring some particularly deranged guitar playing unlike the Dale Hawkins original. Having made its point on the tail-end of the album, it quickly fades out, leaving you to wonder what would happen if they were left to improvise on a more inspiring rocker. It was held over as the tail finisher to the second Stones album, possibly recorded just too late for the first album. It appeared on the second US Stones album in October 1964 ahead of its eventual release in the UK in January 1965.

81. WAKE UP IN THE MORNING (Jones, Thompson)
Also Known As: RICE KRISPIES JINGLE
February 1964: Place: Star Sound Studios, London, England.
Producer: Jonathan Rollands.
Engineer: Glyn Johns.
Track status: Bootleg only.

Kellogg’s the manufacturers of breakfast cereal wanted a soundtrack for their new Rice Krispies promotion. The JW Thompson agency wrote the lyrics and the track was performed by Brian Jones and vocals undertaken by Mick Jagger. It was used on television throughout Europe during 1964. They were paid a sum of £400 for the 30 second recording; the contract was signed by Brian Jones on behalf of the group and witnessed by Eric Easton on 6 February 1964.

top