The Rolling Stones (album)

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For the EP, see The Rolling Stones (EP).

The Rolling Stones
RS64.jpg
UK edition
Studio album by
the Rolling Stones
Released16 April 1964 (1964-04-16)
Recorded3 January – 25 February 1964
StudioRegent Sound, London
Genre
Length33:24
LabelDecca
Producer
The Rolling Stones UK chronology
The Rolling Stones
(1964) 		The Rolling Stones No. 2
(1965)
The Rolling Stones US chronology
The Rolling Stones
(1964) 		12 X 5
(1964)
Alternative cover
US edition, titled England's Newest Hit Makers
US edition, titled England's Newest Hit Makers
Singles from The Rolling Stones (US)
  1. "Not Fade Away"/"I Wanna Be Your Man"
    Released: 6 March 1964
  2. "Tell Me"/"I Just Want to Make Love to You"
    Released: 13 June 1964

The Rolling Stones is the debut studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released by Decca Records in the UK on 16 April 1964. The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on London Records on 30 May 1964, subtitled England's Newest Hit Makers, which later became its official title.

Recording[]

Recorded at Regent Sound Studios in London over the course of five days in January and February 1964, The Rolling Stones was produced by then-managers Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton. The album was originally released by Decca Records in the UK, while the US version appeared on the London Records label.

The majority of the tracks reflect the band's love for R&B. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (whose professional name until 1978 omitted the "s" in his surname) were fledgling songwriters during early 1964, contributing only one original composition to the album: "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)". Two songs are credited to "Nanker Phelge" – a pseudonym the band used for group compositions from 1963 to 1965. Phil Spector and Gene Pitney both contributed to the recording sessions, and are referred to as "Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene" in the subtitle of the Phelge instrumental "Now I've Got a Witness".

Release[]

First pressings of the album, with matrix numbers ending in 1A, 2A, 1B, and 2B, have a 2:52 version of "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", which was pressed from the wrong master tape. Subsequent pressings include the 4:06 version. Early labels and covers also have misprints with the fourth track on side 1 listed as "Mona", which was later changed to "I Need You Baby"", the subtitle of "Now I've Got a Witness" written "Like Uncle Gene and Uncle Phil", the word 'If' omitted from "You Can Make It If You Try", and 'Dozier' spelt 'Bozier'. "Route 66" is listed as "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" on some versions of the album, and some later versions of the album have "I Need You Baby" listed as "Mona (I Need You Baby)" and the subtitles of "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" removed entirely.

The album cover photo was taken by Nicholas Wright. The cover bears no title or identifying information other than the photo and the Decca logo – an "unheard of" design concept originated by manager Andrew Oldham.[1][2]

Upon its release, The Rolling Stones became one of 1964's biggest sellers in the UK, staying at No. 1 for twelve weeks.

The original British version of the album was released on compact disc in 1984, but became out-of-print on CD for many years afterwards. In November 2010, it was made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set titled The Rolling Stones 1964–1969, and by itself digitally at the same time. The original title was also re-instated as part of the Rolling Stones in Mono CD box set, released on 30 September 2016. The album was only released in mono in both the UK and US; no true stereo mix was ever made.

The US version of the album, originally subtitled but later officially called England's Newest Hit Makers, was the band's debut US album and was released by London Records on 30 May 1964, a month-and-a-half after the British version. The track "Not Fade Away" (the A-side of the band's third UK single) replaced "I Need You Baby",[3] and the titles of the tracks "Now I've Got a Witness (Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" were shortened to "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me" on most versions of the American release. Upon its release, The Rolling Stones reached No. 11 in the US, going gold in the process. To date, this is the Stones' only American studio album that has failed to place in the top five on the Billboard album charts.[4] In August 2002, the album, by now officially called England's Newest Hit Makers, was reissued as a new remastered CD and SACD Digipak by ABKCO.[5]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music4/5 stars[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[8]
The Great Rock Discography8/10[9]
MusicHound Rock4/5[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide4/5 stars[9]
Tom HullUK: A–
US: A[10]

The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2010).[11] Sean Egan of BBC Music wrote of the record in 2012: "It's a testament to the group's brilliance that the result was still the best album to emerge from the early 1960s British blues boom … the ensemble lovingly deliver some of their favourite shots of rhythm 'n' blues."[12] It was voted number 418 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[13]

Track listing[]

UK edition[]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Route 66"Bobby Troup2:20
2."I Just Want to Make Love to You"Willie Dixon2:17
3."Honest I Do"Jimmy Reed2:09
4."Mona (I Need You Baby)"Ellas McDaniel3:33
5."Now I've Got a Witness"Nanker Phelge2:29
6."Little by Little"Nanker Phelge, Phil Spector2:39
Total length:15:27
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm a King Bee"James Moore2:35
2."Carol"Chuck Berry2:33
3."Tell Me (You're Coming Back)"Mick Jagger, Keith Richards4:05
4."Can I Get a Witness"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland2:55
5."You Can Make It If You Try"Ted Jarrett2:01
6."Walking the Dog"Rufus Thomas3:10
Total length:17:19

US edition[]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Not Fade Away"Buddy Holly, Norman Petty1:48
2."Route 66"Bobby Troup2:20
3."I Just Want to Make Love to You"Willie Dixon2:17
4."Honest I Do"Jimmy Reed2:09
5."Now I've Got a Witness"Nanker Phelge2:29
6."Little by Little"Nanker Phelge, Phil Spector2:39
Total length:13:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm a King Bee"James Moore2:35
2."Carol"Chuck Berry2:33
3."Tell Me"Mick Jagger, Keith Richards4:05
4."Can I Get a Witness"Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland2:55
5."You Can Make It If You Try"Ted Jarrett2:01
6."Walking the Dog"Rufus Thomas3:10
Total length:17:19

Personnel[]

The Rolling Stones[]

  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica ("Little by Little", "I'm a King Bee"), percussion ("Not Fade Away")
  • Keith Richards – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Brian Jones – electric guitar, harmonica "Not Fade Away", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Now I've Got a Witness", "Honest I Do" [14], percussion ("Can I Get a Witness", "You Can Make It If You Try"), backing vocals
  • Bill Wyman – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians[]

  • Ian Stewart – piano ("Little by Little", "Tell Me", "Can I Get a Witness", "I Just Want to Make Love to You"), organ ("Now I've Got a Witness", "You Can Make It If You Try")
  • Gene Pitney – piano ("Little by Little")
  • Phil Spector – maracas ("Little by Little")
  • Graham Nash – backing vocals ("Little by Little")[14]
  • Allan Clarke – backing vocals ("Little by Little")[14]

Charts[]

Chart (1964–65) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 1
US Billboard 200[17] 11

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Wyman, Bill (2002). Rolling With the Stones. DK Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 0-7894-9998-3.
  2. ^ Oldham, Andrew Loog (2000). Stoned. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 327. ISBN 0-312-27094-1.
  3. ^ McPherson, Ian. "The Rolling Stones' Complete Discography Part I: 1963–1965". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  4. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  5. ^ Walsh, Christopher (24 August 2002). "Super audio CDs: The Rolling Stones Remastered". Billboard. Billboard. p. 27.
  6. ^ Richie Unterberger (30 May 1964). "The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hit Makers) – The Rolling Stones | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  8. ^ Browne, David (20 September 2002). "Satisfaction?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The Rolling Stones/England's Newest Hit Makers". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: The Rolling Stones". tomhull.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  11. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  12. ^ Egan, Sean (2012). "Review of The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  13. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c Stones Complete Recordings Sessions - Martin Elliott
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Rolling Stones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  17. ^ "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Rolling Stones". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2016.

External links[]

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