The Rolling Stones
UK edition
Studio album by
the Rolling Stones
Released17 April 1964 (1964-04-17)
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
(1964)		 Five by Five
(1964)
The Rolling Stones US chronology
England's Newest Hit Makers
(1964)		 12 X 5
(1964)
Singles from England's Newest Hit Makers
  1. "Not Fade Away"
    Released: 6 March 1964
  2. "Tell Me"
    Released: 12 June 1964[1]

The Rolling Stones is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released by Decca Records in the UK on 17 April 1964.[2] The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on London Records on 29 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.[3][4]

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 reinstated 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 self-titled but later officially called England's Newest Hit Makers, was the band's debut US album and was released by London Records on 29 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",[5] 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 Rolling Stones' only American studio album that has failed to place in the top five on the Billboard album charts.[6] 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.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[10]
The Great Rock Discography8/10
MusicHound Rock
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Tom HullUK: A−
US: A[11]

The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2010).[12] 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."[13] It was voted number 418 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[14]

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 (Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)"Nanker Phelge2:29
6."Little by Little"Nanker Phelge, Phil Spector2:39
Total length:15:27

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

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon,[15] except where noted:

The Rolling Stones

  • Mick Jagger – vocals, handclaps, tambourine; harmonica ("Honest I Do", "Little by Little" and "I'm a King Bee"), maracas ("Not Fade Away", "Mona")
  • Keith Richards – backing vocals, lead and rhythm (6- and 12-string) guitars
  • Brian Jones – backing vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar ("I'm a King Bee"); slide guitar ("Walking the Dog");[16] harmonica ("Not Fade Away", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "Now I've Got a Witness"); tambourine ("Tell Me" and "Can I Get a Witness"); whistling ("Walking the Dog")
  • Bill Wyman – backing vocals, bass, handclaps
  • Charlie Watts – drums, handclaps
  • Unidentified musician (played by the Rolling Stones) – tambourine ("Mona" and "Little by Little")

Additional musicians

  • Gene Pitney – piano ("Little by Little")
  • Phil Spector – percussion, maracas ("Little by Little")
  • Ian Stewart – organ ("Now I've Got a Witness" and "You Can Make It If You Try"); piano ("Tell Me" and "Can I Get a Witness")

Production and additional personnel

Charts

Chart (1964-1965) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[17] 1
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[18] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 1
US Billboard 200[21] 11

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Rolling Stones singles".
  2. ↑ "1964 timeline".
  3. ↑ Wyman, Bill (2002). Rolling With the Stones. DK Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 0-7894-9998-3.
  4. ↑ Oldham, Andrew Loog (2000). Stoned. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 327. ISBN 0-312-27094-1.
  5. ↑ McPherson, Ian. "The Rolling Stones' Complete Discography Part I: 1963–1965". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  6. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Walsh, Christopher (24 August 2002). "Super audio CDs: The Rolling Stones Remastered". Billboard. p. 27.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  10. ↑ Browne, David (20 September 2002). "Satisfaction?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: The Rolling Stones". tomhull.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  15. ↑ Margotin & Guesdon 2016, pp. 29–42, 50–51.
  16. ↑ Babiuk & Prevost 2013, p. 100.
  17. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  19. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Rolling Stones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones". Music Canada.
  23. ↑ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones". Recording Industry Association of America.

Sources

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