Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s

[bigfatheart]

Imagine being in prime position to have your pick of Beatles songs to cover in order to sustain your career, listening to (say) Eleanor Rigby, And Your Bird Can Sing, For No One, Got To Get You Into My Life... and decide "Nah, fuck it, going to lead the backlash now". Madness.

[purlieu]

Doesn't add anything to the original. What a waste of time.

Describing Revolver as 'not having one single track worth recording' is one of the most truly baffling musical statements I've ever read. Thank God history has proved that bunch of idiots wrong.

[Satchmo Distel]

21 Jan: George Harrison married Patti Boyd

[Satchmo Distel]

There was a readers' backlash against The Overlanders (RM 24.9.66 see page 2)

https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-09-24.pdf

[daf]

Good Spot! 

[The Culture Bunker]

I guess the people who bought this were those who couldn't afford the full 'Rubber Soul' album?

[Satchmo Distel]

'Life-lines of The Overlanders' (p.10)

https://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-New-Musical-Express/1966/NME-1966-01-21.pdf

[daf]

A swinging soul from a well-heeled family, it's . . .

210.  Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walking



From : 13 February – 12 March 1966
Weeks : 4
Flip side : The City Never Sleeps At Night
Bonus 1 : Promo Film
Bonus 2 : Italian TV performance
Bonus 3 : A Whole Scene Going Promo

The Story So Far : 

Nancy Sandra Sinatra was born on 8 June 1940, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is the eldest of the three children Frank Sinatra had by his first wife, Nancy Barbato. Both of her parents were of Italian ancestry. When she was a toddler, the family moved to Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. They later moved again to Toluca Lake, California, for Frank Sinatra's Hollywood career. There, she spent many years in piano, dance and dramatic performance lessons, as well as undergoing months of voice lessons.

In the late 1950s, Sinatra began to study music, dancing, and voice at the University of California, Los Angeles. She dropped out after a year, and made her professional debut in 1960 on her father's television special, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis, celebrating the return of Elvis Presley from Europe following his discharge from service in the U.S. Army.



Nancy was sent to the airport on behalf of her father to welcome Elvis when his plane landed. On the special, Nancy and her father danced and sang a duet, "You Make Me Feel So Young/Old".

Sinatra was signed to her father's label, Reprise Records, in 1961. Her first single, "Cuff Links and a Tie Clip" (b/w "Not Just Your Friend"), went largely unnoticed.

Her singles released in the US 1962 were : "To Know Him Is To Love Him" in January, "June, July And August" in July, and "Tonight You Belong To Me" in November.

 

Further flops coninued in 1963, including : "I See The Moon" in February, "Cruel War" in June, and "Thanks To You" in November.

Two chart-dodging singles were released in 1964 : "Just Think About The Good Times" in February, and "There Goes The Bride" in July.

She appeared in three beach party films — 'For Those Who Think Young' and 'Get Yourself a College Girl' in 1964 and 'The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini' in 1966 — the latter of which featured her in a singing role.

 

Following yet another flop with "True Love" (b/w "The Answer To Everything") in January 1965, she was on the verge of being dropped, but her singing career received a boost with the help of songwriter/producer/arranger Lee Hazlewood, who had been making records for ten years, notably with Duane Eddy.

He had her sing in a lower key and crafted songs for her. Bolstered by an image overhaul — including bleached-blonde hair, frosted lips, heavy eye make-up and swinging Carnaby Street fashions.

The first single written and produced by Hazlewood, "So Long Babe" (b/w "If He'd Love Me") failed to set the charts alight, but their next collaboration, "These Boots Are Made For Walking", hit the right spot, and shot right up to the Top Spot in both the US and the UK.

 

The chart topping platter was also included on her first album - "Boots", released in 1966 - alongside some contemporary covers, including : "As Tears Go By" by The Rolling Stones, "Day Tripper" and "Run for Your Life" by The Beatles, Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe", The Knickerbockers "Lies".

 

Her follow-up single - the shameless re-tread, "How Does That Grab You Darlin'" (b/w "I Move Around") reached #19 in the UK in March 1966, but the next one "In Our Time" flopped in October 1966, but she was back in the charts in January 1967 with "Sugar Town" (b/w "Summer Wine").

 

The Single :

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" was written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra. It reached No. 1 in both the US and UK Singles Chart in early 1966.



Lee Hazlewood intended to record the song himself, saying that "it's not really a girl's song", but Sinatra talked him out of it, saying that "coming from a guy it was harsh and abusive, but was perfect for a little girl to sing". Hazlewood agreed, and the rest was geography.

Sinatra's recording of the song was made with the help of Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. This session included Hal Blaine on drums, Al Casey, Tommy Tedesco, and Billy Strange on guitars, Ollie Mitchell, Roy Caton and Lew McCreary on horns, Carol Kaye on electric bass and Chuck Berghofer on double bass, providing the notable bass line. Nick Bonney was the guitarist for the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

   

Other Versions include :   The Supremes (1966)  /  The Artwoods (1966)  /  Mrs Miller (1966)  /  Loretta Lynn (1966)  /  The New Christy Minstrels (1966)  /  The Ventures (1966)  /  "Ces bottes sont faites pour marche" by Dominique Michel (1966)  /  Muguette (1966)  /  "Die Stiefel sind zum wandern" by Eileen (1966)  /  Conny Kampla (1966)  /  "Boty proti lásce" by Yvonne Přenosilova (1966)  /   The Mariachi Brass featuring Chet Baker (1966)  /  Ace Cannon (1966)  /  Ella Fitzgerald (1967)  /  Wayne Newton (1967)  /  Symarip (1970)  /  The Torero Band (1970)  /  Amanda Lear (1977)  /  The Shillelagh Sisters (1984)  /  Julie Goodyear (1987)  /  Barry Adamson & Anita Lane (1991)  /  Billy Ray Cyrus (1992)  /  La Toya Jackson (1994)  /  Boy George (1995)  /  Geri Halliwell (2000)  / Bucks Fizz Shelley Preston and the Shelley Preston Band (feat. Shelley Preston) (2006)  /  Hellsonics (2009)  /  The Racoons  (2009)  /  Jasmine Thorpe with Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Jordi Artigas (2012)  /  Andrea Valeri (2013)  /  a robot (2015)  /  MonaLisa Twins (2015)  /  Soon Hot And Sunny (2016)  /  Miley Cyrus (2017)  /  The MustangZ Trio (2018)

On This Day  :

19 February : After years and years of heavenly bliss, The naval minister of the United Kingdom, Christopher Mayhew, resigns.
21 February : Wendy James, singer (Transvision Vamp), born in London, England
22 February : Dogs in Spa-a-a-a-a-a-ce!! Soviet Union launch Kosmos 110 with Veterok & Ugolek, 1st 2-dog crew
28 February : The Cavern Club in Liverpool closes
28 February : British Prime Minister Harold Wilson calls a General Election, to be held on March 31.
1 March : The British Government announces plans for the decimalisation, to come into force in February 1971
1 March : Soviet space probe Venera 3 crashes on Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
1 March : Paul Hollywood, baker (The Great British Bake Off), born in Wallasey, England
3 March : Tone-Loc, rapper, born Anthony Terrell Smith in Los Angeles, California
4 March : In an interview with London Evening Standard, John Lennon states that The Beatles are "more popular than Jesus now".
4 March : North Sea Gas First pumped ashore by BP
5 March : 11th Eurovision Song Contest: Udo Jurgens for Austria wins singing "Merci, Cherie" in Luxembourg
6 March : Alan Davies, comic (Jonathan Creek, QI), born Alan Roger Davies in Loughton, Essex, England
7 March : "Wait A Minim!" opens at John Golden Theater NYC
7 March : Mike Millward, (The Fourmost), dies of leukaemia at 23
8 March : "Golden Boy" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 569 performances
10 March : Edie Brickell, musician (Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians), born Edie Arlisa Brickell in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas
10 March : The Frost Report, which launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett is first broadcast on BBC.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :

                 

[purlieu]

I love the weird descending bass bit in the intro / between-verse sections. It's a fun song I suppose, never did much for me really. But I do really enjoy that bass.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

A strong contender for the cruellest fade-out ever. The horns kick in, the rhythm section starts cooking and then it's all over in a flash. It should groove on for at least another 30 seconds.

Also, it's weird how Nancy looks older in that photo with Elvis than she looked a few years later. The JFK-era coiffure forced youngsters into early middle-age, so no wonder they couldn't wait to let it all hang out when the mid-'60s arrived.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Tuney Tunes?? The ultimate "Will this do?" pop mag title. Presumably a sister publication to Poppity Pop.

Still, dreamy Keef eh? Cor!

Here's Lee Hazelwood's version of Boots, which is a bit faster (and terribly post-modern).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IkC3BdlwLI

[Satchmo Distel]

Pun on Looney Tunes?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Pun on Looney Tunes?

An absolutely dreadful pun, in that case.

[kalowski]

They entered the German music magazine market with Jerry Melodies.

[daf]

Mother's Little Hellraisers, it's . . .

210b. (MM 157.)  Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown
     + (NME 209.)  Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown



From :  19 February - 11 March 1966 (3) : Melody Maker
            5 - 25 March 1966 (3) : NME
Weeks : 5
Flip side : As Tears Go By
Bonus 1 : 19th Nervous TV Performance
Bonus 2 : 19th Nervous Alternate Take
Bonus 3 : 19th Nervous "Got Live" Version
Bonus 4 : 19th Nervous Top of the Pops (clip)
Bonus 5 : As Tears Go By Ed Sullivan

The Story So Far :

In December 1965, the Rolling Stones released "As Tears Go By" as a single - it charted at #6 in the US and #2 in Australia.

 

A story surrounding the song's genesis has it that Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham locked Jagger and Richard in a kitchen in order to force them to write a song together, even suggesting what type of song he wanted: "I want a song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex." The result was initially named "As Time Goes By", the title of the song Dooley Wilson sings in the film Casablanca. It was Oldham who replaced "Time" with "Tears".

Keith : "We thought, what a terrible piece of tripe. We came out and played it to Andrew, and he said 'It's a hit.' We actually sold this stuff, and it actually made money. Mick and I were thinking, this is money for old rope!"

The song was mainly created by Jagger, in co-operation with session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. Oldham subsequently gave the ballad to Marianne Faithfull, then 17, for her to record as a B-side.

 

Marianne Faithfull : "He handed me a scrawled lyric sheet and I went back into the studio and did it. As soon as I heard the cor anglais playing the opening bars I knew it was going to work. After a couples of takes it was done. Andrew came and gave be a big hug. 'Congratulations darling. You've got yourself a number six,' he said."

The success of the recording caused the record company, Decca, to switch the song to an A-side, where it became a number 9 hit in the UK Singles Chart in August 1964, and launched Faithfull's career as a major singer.

Marianne Faithfull : "As Tears Go By" was not, contrary to popular folklore, written for me, but it fitted me so perfectly it might as well had been. Originally, the A-side of my first record should have been a song written by Lionel Bart, "I Don't Know (How To Tell You)", but that song was awful. It was one of those showbiz songs that needed the proper register. My voice was just plain wrong! We did take after agonizing take... but I could not simply do it. In desperation Andrew got me to try the song that originally had been planned for the B-side, "As Tears Go By."

"God knows how Mick and Keith wrote it or where it came from... In any case, it is an absolutely astonishing thing for a boy of 20 to have written a song about a woman looking back nostalgically on her life."

The Rolling Stones' version was released as a single in December 1965 by their North American record label, London Records, due to popular demand after radio DJs across the country started playing it from the band's recently released album December's Children (And Everybody's). The Stones also released a version with Italian lyrics as a single in Italy, under the title "Con Le Mie Lacrime".

On 4 February 1966, The Rolling Stones' released their next single, "19th Nervous Breakdown", backed with their previous American single, "As Tears Go By". In the US, the flip side was "Sad Day".

   

Mick : "I get inspiration from things that are happening around me - everyday life as I see it. People say I'm always singing about pills and breakdowns, therefore I must be an addict - this is ridiculous. Some people are so narrow-minded they won't admit to themselves that this really does happen to other people beside pop stars."

 

On 8 February, Keith Richards fails his test for a driving licence. 
 On 13 February, in New York, the Rolling Stones appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for the third time. 
On 16 February, The Rolling Stones arrive in Sydney, Australia, for their second Australasian tour, which ends on 2 March with a concert in Perth. 
Between 3-5 March, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie and Shirley Watts spend time in Fiji. While Brian Jones and Bill Wyman hang out in Los Angeles. 


On March 9, at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, the Rolling Stones onclude their recording sessions for their next album, Aftermath - the first Stones album to consist entirely of original Mick Jagger–Keith Richard compositions.

Charlie : "In a way I suppose Brian resented Mick and Keith being sonwriters. Physically and in every other way Brian wasn's strong enough to take control. He was a very clever musician but he didn't stay with anything long enough to prove himself a GREAT musician. He'd play something for three weeks and then never again."

Ian Stewart : "Songwriting caused a lot of bitterness. But there again Brian could not write songs. He's a little bit like Bill in that respect - writing nice little songs that are all right by themselves but not in the Rolling Stones' style. Brian's attempts at writing were really awful and pretty grim."

Keith : "Mick and I being songwriters affected Brian a lot. It took Brian a long time to come to terms with that because it was very early on. After that he never reagained any sort of status. He lost more and more interest as he went along. It got to the point where we were going in the stdio and Brian had to play or learn a song that Mick and I had written. That would bring him down more and more. Brian's only solution became clinging to either Mick or me, which created a triangle of sorts. It was like Brian's open wound. Eventually, though, he became a sort of laughingstock to the rest of the band."

Bill : "Charlie and I were all right 'cause we're fairly easygoing, but for Brian it really threw him. Brian was lost. He wasn't even singing backup vocals like he used to. He got confused over what his purpose in the band was. So he started to practice less and get drunk more. He really couldn't handle it, and just went from bad to worse over two or three years. It was difficult to break this cult thing and feel like we were all friends. The atmosphere was a bit strange, a little tense. There would be in jokes that you didn't know about. I went through a period that lasted several years where I was the scapegoat for funny remarks and sarcastic comments. I didn't like it very much. Then suddenly Brian became the one that wasn't liked. I was OK then, back amongst the pluses and Brian was in the minuses. In those days it was a bit vicious."

Mick : "We really were vicious. In the beginning if anyone was the slightest bit flaky in a recording sesion, they were really in for a hard time. When you're young you put the knife in. Brian couldn't even be botherered turning up for sessions. There's only so much you can do."



In Mid-March 1966, Brian Jones spends time with Andrew Oldham in New York City. While in New York, Brian catches the Velvet Underground perform at the Paraphernalia, as part of Andy Warhol's touring multi-media spectacular Exploding Plastic Inevitable show. Meanwhile, Keith Richards purchases the house Redlands in West Wittering, Sussex. 


On 26 March, The Rolling Stones arrive in Amsterdam in the Netherlands for a European tour. They perform in Den Bosch, near The Hague, for the first time, and continue the tour with concerts in Belgium and France, where the group meets Brigitte Bardot in Paris. In Marseille, Mick Jagger is hit with a piece of wood over the eye while performing, and requires hospitalization and stitches. 


 

In early April, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts spend time in England, with Mick attending a recording session by The Troggs. Bill Wyman, Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg spend time in Paris; Bill Wyman and Brian Jones attend the taping of a special Ready, Steady, Go! edition at Paris TV studios 
featuring The Who and The Yardbirds. 


On 15 April 1966, The Rolling Stones' released their fourth U.K. album, Aftermath on Decca records. The album was the first to consist entirely of original Mick Jagger–Keith Richard compositions, while Brian Jones emerged as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a variety of instruments not usually associated with rock music.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Rolling Stones began recording Aftermath immediately after their October–December 1965 US tour – their fourth and largest tour of the United States up to that point. According to Bill Wyman, the album was originally conceived as the soundtrack for a planned film, Back, Behind and in Front. The film was announced on 17 December 1965, with the Rolling Stones said to be taking starring roles.  The production was officially cancelled the following May after lead singer Mick Jagger met with the potential director, Nicholas Ray, and disliked him. A press release stated that the band were due to film a screen adaptation of the Dave Wallis novel Only Lovers Left Alive instead.

 


The recording sessions took place at RCA Studios in Los Angeles on 6–10 December 1965 and 3–12 March 1966, in between the band's touring commitments. These sessions also produced the A-sides of two singles released by the Rolling Stones in the first half of 1966, "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "Paint It Black".

Keith : "Our previous sessions have always been rush jobs. This time we were able to relax a little, take our time."

The main engineer for the album, Dave Hassinger, was pivotal in making the group feel comfortable during the sessions as he, according to Wyman, let them experiment with instrumentals and team up with session musicians like Jack Nitzsche to variegate their sound. Wyman recalled that Nitzsche and Brian Jones would pick up instruments that were in the studio such as the marimba, sitar and Appalachian dulcimer, and experiment with various sounds for each song, resulting in a diverse mix of musical styles.

Mick : "Aftermath was a big landmark record for me. It's the first time we wrote the whole record and finally laid to rest the ghost of having to do these very nice and interesting, no doubt, but still, cover versions of old R&B songs – which we didn't really feel we were doing justice, to be perfectly honest ... It had a lot of good songs, it had a lot of different styles, and it was very well recorded. So it was, to my mind, a real marker."

The sound of the album contrasts the dark themes explored in Jagger and Richards' lyrics, which often scorn female lovers. "Stupid Girl", which assails the "supposed greed and facile certitudes of women", was speculated by the writers to indirectly criticise one of Jagger's earliest girlfriends, Chrissie Shrimpton. "High and Dry" expresses a cynical outlook on a lost romantic connection, while "Under My Thumb", "Out of Time" and "Think" show how "a man's revenge on his mistress (or perhaps wife) becomes a source of real pleasure".

A more compassionate attitude toward women is expressed in "Lady Jane"'s story of romantic courtship and "Mother's Little Helper", which examines a housewife who uses pharmaceutical drugs to cope with her daily life. Similar to the latter song, "What to Do" connects modern society to feelings of unhappiness. The band's misgivings about their rock stardom are also touched on, including fans who imitate them ("Doncha Bother Me") and seemingly never-ending concert tours ("Goin' Home").

During the recording, Oldham wanted to title the album Could You Walk on the Water? The idea upset the heads of the Rolling Stones' American distributor, London Records, who feared a negative response from Christians. The title controversy embroiled the band in a conflict with their British record label, Decca, over lack of creative control, delaying the album's release.

Oldham's proposed title was coupled with the idea of producing a deluxe gatefold featuring six pages of colour photos from the Rolling Stones' preceding American tour and a cover depicting the band walking atop a California reservoir. It was ultimately rejected by Decca, and a version of the proposed packaging ended up being used for the US version of the compilation album Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), released in March 1966.

 

The front cover photo for Aftermath's British release was taken by Guy Webster and the cover design was done by Oldham, who was credited as "Sandy Beach". Instead of the elaborate essay that Oldham usually supplied for the Stones' albums, the liner notes were written by the album's engineer, Dave Hassinger, and were a straight commentary on the music. For the cover image, close-ups of the band members' faces were diagonally aligned against a pale-pink and black coloured background, and the album title was cut in half across a line break.



The back of the LP featured four black-and-white photos of the group taken by Jerry Schatzberg at his photographic studio in New York in February 1966. Jones was vocal in his dislike of Oldham's design when interviewed by Melody Maker in April.

For the American edition's cover, a colour photo was taken by David Bailey depicting Jones and Richards in front of Jagger, Watts and Wyman, against a blurred black background. On 20 June, London issued the American edition with a shorter track listing - adding future single, "Paint It Black", while removing "Out of Time", "Take It or Leave It", "What to Do" and "Mother's Little Helper".

 

In the UK, Aftermath topped the albums chart for eight consecutive weeks, replacing the soundtrack album for The Sound of Music at number 1.

Aftermath received highly favourable reviews in the music press. It was released just months before Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and the Beatles' Revolver, albums by artists that Jagger and Richards had received comparisons to while Oldham was promoting the band's artistic maturation to the press.

Keith Altham of the New Musical Express wrote in his review: "Those masterminds behind the electric machines – The Rolling Stones – have produced the finest value for money ever on their new LP". He described "Goin' Home" as a "fantastic R&B improvisation" and said that "Lady Jane", "Under My Thumb" and "Mother's Little Helper" had the potential to be excellent singles".

Melody Maker said that the album's focus was "on big beat, power, and interesting 'sounds'" and that "the use of dulcimer, sitar, organ, harpsichord, marimba and fuzz boxes created an overwhelming variety of atmospherics and tones". The reviewer described Aftermath as the group's best LP to date and one that would "effortlessly take Britain by storm".

Richard Green of Record Mirror began his review by saying: "Whether they realise it or not – and I think Andrew Oldham does – the Rolling Stones have on their hands the smash LP of the year with Aftermath. I say that without knowing what's coming later, but whatever it is will have to go some to top this album."

 

The apparent derision of women in the album's lyrics was a source of division among listeners. Conceding that male chauvinism became a key theme of the Stones' lyrics from late 1965 onwards, Keith Richard later commented : "It was all a spin-off from our environment ... hotels and too many dumb chicks. Not all dumb, not by any means, but that's how one got. You got really cut off."

Decca's press release for the album declared: "We look to Shakespeare and Dickens and Chaucer for accounts of other times in our history, and we feel that tomorrow we will on many occasions look to the gramophone records of the Rolling Stones ... who act as a mirror for today's mind, action and happenings."



Between 15-30 April, Mick Jagger and Chrissie Shrimpton, Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg spend time in Dublin, Ireland, while Bill Wyman and his family vacation in Scandinavia. 


On 1 May, for the third year in a row, the Rolling Stones perform at the New Musical Express' Poll-Winners Concert at the Empire Pool in Wembley, London. They share the bill with The Who, The Yardbirds, and for the last time with The Beatles. 


The Single :

"19th Nervous Breakdown" was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, and first performed by The Rolling Stones.



The song was written during the group's October–December 1965 tour of the United States and recorded at the conclusion of their fourth North American tour during the Aftermath album sessions, between 3 and 8 December 1965 at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.

Jagger came up with the title first and then wrote the lyrics around it. The opening guitar figure was played by Keith Richards while in the verses Brian Jones played a bass-note figure that derives from "Diddley Daddy" by Bo Diddley. The track is also known for Bill Wyman's so-called "dive-bombing" bass line at the end.



"19th Nervous Breakdown" was released as a single on 4 February 1966 in the UK and reached number 2 on the Record Retailer chart. However, it was number 1 on the NME Top 30, for three weeks, Melody Maker for 3 weeks, and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart. It was also the fifth best-selling single of 1966 in the UK, achieving greater full-year sales than Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", which had prevented it from reaching number 1 in the boring old Record Retailer chart. Boo - what a swizz!!


 

The single was backed with "As Tears Go By" in the UK, while "Sad Day" was the flip-side in the US - where it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind "Ballad of the Green Berets" by S/Sgt. Barry Sadler) and number 1 on the Cash Box Top 100.

Other Versions of 19th Nervous Breakdown include :   The Standells (1966)  /  "La neurastenia" by Los Salvajes (1966)  /  The Pupils (1966)  /  Joe Pass (1967)  /  Brent Ford and The Nylons (1978)  /  The Flamin' Groovies (1979)  /  Tuxedomoon (1979)  /  "Din första kollision" by Dan Tillberg (1979)  /  Hot Ice (1979)  /  Nash the Slash (1980)  /  Shockabilly (1983)  /  The Raisins (1983)  /  Jason and The Scorchers (1986)  /  The 5.6.7.8's (2004)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  a robot (2016)  /  Sarah Menescal (2018)  /  harp guitar (2019)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Other Versions of As Tears Go By include :    "Não Tenho Ninguém" by Jerry Adriani (1965)  /  Nancy Sinatra (1966)  /  Pat Boone (1966)  /  Bobby Goldsboro (1966)  /  Esther Phillips (1966)  /  The Pupils (1966)  /  Nancy Sit (1966)  /  Joe Pass  (1967)  /  P.P. Arnold (1968)  /  Felicia Wong (1972)  /  Balaam & The Angel (1987)  /  The Primitives (1989)  /  Johnny Thunders (1990)  /  Zona B (1991)  /  Vanessa Paradis (1993)  /  Melanie (2002)  /  Danny McEvoy (2014)  /  8bit (2018)  /  a robot (2018)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :

                   

[famethrowa]

I've had plenty of Stones experience, listened, played tribute shows, watched live stuff and all that, but I've never heard of this song beyond mention of the title.

Hell of a mess production-wise, of course, but it's quite a "pop" song.

They're right about As Tears Go By also, it is awful.

[daf]

Here's the Stones cover mentioned in that Cliff article : Blue Turns To Grey

[purlieu]

Definitely prefer this over their earlier singles. Still not ticking that many boxes for me, but an improvement.

Lovely wibbly outro too.

[Gulftastic]

Never heard this one before. Quite like it.

[daf]

Always thought Tokyo Storm Warning owed a debt to this one.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

There was a readers' backlash against The Overlanders (RM 24.9.66 see page 2)

https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-09-24.pdf

That's wonderful. I love how the entirely sensible general consensus among readers is that The Overlanders were a third-rate group who should've counted themselves supremely lucky to have a hit with Lennon & McCartney song. "Do you think they write songs just for you?" It would appear that they did.

"Christ, lads, there's nothing on this Revolver bollocks we can get our heads around. They've really let us down here."

A cautionary pop tale, let their hubris be a lesson for us all.

[kalowski]

How have people not heard 19th Nervous Breakdown? Is this a forum for school kids?
It's a cracker, and the guitars sound so good. I wonder if nowadays there'd be backlash over people misinterpreting the "cheating negro kind" line?

[timebug]

No such line. It is actually:

You were still in school when you had that fool who really messed your mind
And after that you turned your back on treating people kind

I imagine that either you need a hearing test/your player is out of whack/or you are trying to be 'funny/controversial'?

[daf]

I can hear it both ways, but the official lyric video (at 1:55) confirms the 'Treating people kind' line is the correct one.

[kalowski]

No such line. It is actually:

You were still in school when you had that fool who really messed your mind
And after that you turned your back on treating people kind

I imagine that either you need a hearing test/your player is out of whack/or you are trying to be 'funny/controversial'?

Blimey! I stand corrected. I must have misheard it years and years ago and then my mind confirmed it whenever I listened to it.

[DrGreggles]

Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown

My favourite Stones single so far.

[timebug]

Easily done kalowski! I still have two mates, one of who believes to this day that Jimi Hendrix sang 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy' rather than the actual ''scuse me,while I kiss the sky'. And one who will not have it that the Procol Harum line in 'Whiter Shade' is; We skipped the light fandango...'.He chooses to believe that it is 'we skipped the life,and then go...'
We have all done it at some stage with some song!
My wife's best mate always sang the CCR song as' There's a bad moon on the right' as opposed to 'on the rise'. Whatever lights yer candle!

[daf]

I still have two mates, one of who believes to this day that Jimi Hendrix sang 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy' rather than the actual ''scuse me,while I kiss the sky'.

I always thought the double meaning was deliberate - particularly they way he sings it in some live performances - (I think he's playfully pointing over to Noel during the line on that one)

This review of a bootleg has a report of another variant :

LA Forum 26th April 1969
Tax Free, Foxy Lady, Red House, Spanish Castle Magic, Star Spangled Banner, Purple Haze, I Don't Live Today, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)/Sunshine Of Your Love/Voodoo Child (Slight Return) reprise

The very enthusiastic audience wouldn't sit down (this wasn't tolerated by the authorities at the time !) and some fans rush the stage, forcing the band to plea for calm on many occasions. The heavy policing resulted in officers taking the stage while the band were playing, prompting Jimi to sing "... scuse me while I kiss that policeman" during "Purple Haze". The roudy atmosphere clearly bothers the band and spoils the performance somewhat.

[Satchmo Distel]

Always thought Tokyo Storm Warning owed a debt to this one.

Costello has often stated that This Year's Model was channeling Aftermath so I think his plundering of Stones ideas went back as far as the Attractions' debut.

[Johnboy]

Always thought Tokyo Storm Warning owed a debt to this one.

wow. never noticed this before. mind blown