Rolling Stones Single-By-Single Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Parachute Woman, Mar 6, 2018.

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  1. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I've had an interest for awhile in starting a Stones discussion thread and, after some searching, it seems that a single-by-single thread hasn't been attempted for this band. I thought I would try to get one underway! It may be a bit of a mammoth undertaking, but I know there are lots of Stones fans here who may enjoy participating.

    We'll go through all the UK and US singles in order of release and have a day or two of discussion for each one.

    I'll start things today with their debut single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On."


    "Come On" (1963)


    [​IMG]

    B-Side: "I Want to Be Loved" (the rolling stones - I want to be loved - enhanced sound )
    Released: June 7, 1963
    Charts: #21 (UK)

    "Come On" was chosen as the Rolling Stones' debut single. Released in the late spring of 1963, it reached number 21 on the UK single charts. The B-side was the Stones' arrangement of Willie Dixon's "I Want to Be Loved". Both songs were recorded in May 1963. "Come On" has been released on several compilation albums: More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972), Singles Collection: The London Years (1989) (together with its B-side), Singles 1963-1965 (2004) (together with its B-side), Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (2007) and GRRR! (2012).[1]

    During the 6 June 2013 concert in Toronto, Canada, as part of the "50 & Counting Tour", Mick Jagger sang a few bars (with Charlie Watts drumming the beat) after mentioning the single being released exactly 50 years ago that day. It was the first time the song was heard in any capacity during a Rolling Stones concert since 1965.

    Personnel[edit]
     
  2. mbrownp1

    mbrownp1 Forum Resident

    Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  3. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I've always really liked "Come On." It has a zippy, punchy sound to it with nice harmonica work from Brian. They seem to do it at a slightly quicker tempo than Chuck did and I have never cared for the background vocals on his version:



    All in all, I think this was a really cool song to open their career with and it is certainly very indicative of their sound and vibe during this period. I like the b-side as well and how they did a rock 'n roll song for the A and a blues for the flip. :righton:
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
  4. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
  5. stewedandkeefed

    stewedandkeefed Came Ashore In The Dead Of The Night

    Great idea for a thread. I have always paid attention to how the Stones catalogue was released in particular in the UK and the importance of singles and EPs in their first few years.
    "Come On" is not one of my favourite Chuck Berry numbers and subsequently I don't see it as a particularly strong Stones single. It's fine enough but the Stones did so much better with other Chuck Berry songs. As fate would have it, the one 2013 show I attended in Toronto included an impromptu version of part of "Come On" in response to Mick's between song patter referencing the fifty year anniversary of the single's release. I think it's telling that "Come On" was never part of the Stones' live repertoire. Every band had to start somewhere and for the Stones, "Come On" was it.
     
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  6. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    "Come on" was not something they were happy with. It was a compromise to get rock, blues, and pop in a package to get a start. They all hated it AFAIK though. Do we remember that? It wasn't the blues Brian Jones envisioned but it wasn't beatlesque either. It was meant to split the difference, therefore a compromise of a sort.
     
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  7. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
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  8. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Come On:
    Come On is a fun tune, I like the kind of punchy rhythm that Keith, Bill, and Charlie deliver as well as Brian’s harmonica playing.
    Overall, a solid track.

    I Want To Be Loved:
    I love this song, from Mick’s performance to Brian’s harmonica, very catchy tune, great song overall.
     
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  9. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    [​IMG]

    It's not my favorite Chuck Berry song that they cover but is ok for a first single. The BBC version has more energy in my opinion. They played Come On live a bit in the early days since it was a single but according to one of the set list sites they stopped playing it live fairly quickly.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
  10. aphexj

    aphexj Sound mind & body

    I was at the 2013 show too!

     
  11. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    You betcha!:righton:

    I like "I Want To Be Loved" more than "Come On". The falsetto vocal on "Come On" has driven me nuts since the first time I heard it on The London Years.
     
  12. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Very interesting! I wasn't aware of that, but it definitely makes sense. They had a vision for their sound but there was also the charts to think of. I can see "I Want to Be Loved" being something they liked more. Watching the video of them doing it live in 2013, Mick seems a bit bemused by "Come On" overall. A foot in the door, but not much else!
     
    Aftermath likes this.
  13. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Holy hell, I’m not used to you being around in the afternoon!
     
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  14. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    Count me in too!

    "Come On"; well, every band has to start somewhere. "I Want to Be Loved" is definitely the superior side.
     
  15. California Couple

    California Couple dislike us on facebook

    Location:
    Newport Beach
    Through the future darkley
    Only a week until we get to Play With Fire.
    Only a couple months until we get to Plunder My Soul.
     
  16. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    Man, I know "Come On" really well but can't place it in terms of what/where in my collection. I didn't have the single so it must have been on something else, maybe even a cassette of recordings off the radio.
     
  17. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

  18. John Fell

    John Fell Forum Survivor

    Location:
    Undisclosed
    More Hot Rocks
    The Singles Collection: The London Years
    GRRR!

    Big Hits (U.K. version)
    Rolled Gold
     
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  19. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    I've never heard this before.
    This is so bad that it is kind of funny. A weird mix of Chuck Berry, blues, and the Merseybeat sound.
     
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  20. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    I have to agree. I hadn't heard this version (I haven't picked up On Air yet, though it is in my shopping cart :) ) and I like the rawer, live sound of this version. It's not a great song in any version, but I really dig the harmonica sound.

     
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  21. GlamorProfession

    GlamorProfession Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tejas
    ah, so innocent.....
     
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  22. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    Agree, I really like that harmonica sound, too - whether on the single or the BBC version.

    (Echoey, insistent, and a little eerie, kinda...)

    Although others here seem to not really care for the song choice, I think by choosing this tune, Brian, Mick and Keith decidedly declare one of their musical blueprints without taking an obvious route.
    Obviously, it’s not the last, either...
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
  23. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    I always enjoyed the covers side of More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)...

    ...because in song form, those covers informed me of the solid rock and roll, blues, pop, rhythm and blues foundation that the still developing Rolling Stones held as inspirations.

    Not just name-dropping your musical roots, but playing those songs, that they may have owned the 45’s of, themselves.

    That’s a declaration of one’s dedication.
     
  24. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    Engineered by Roger Savage at what apparently was the original Olympic Studios in the West End of London. He had this to say about the session for the single:

    "We ended up doing an illicit night session that wasn't official. I had the keys to Olympic. I let them in through the back door when no one else was there. I remember Mick Jagger arriving with a whole lot of books under his arm, so it must have been straight after college. I felt that Brian Jones seemed to be the dominant figure. . . There was not a lot of input that I remember from anyone in regard to the recording, except that Andrew wanted me to take the piano down or almost out actually."

    (From the "The Rough Guide to the Rolling Stones" by Sean Egan)
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
  25. gojikranz

    gojikranz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento
    will be interested in following along with everyone on this journey I have a few of those single boxes so will pull those out when I get home.
     
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