Rolling Stones Single-By-Single Thread

Well, what can ya say, "Not Fade Away" was the single that set the Stones on the path to greatness (especially in the States). Applying the Diddley beat was an inspired choice. "Little By Little" is a good one too. Basically a glorified jam but a cool little tune just the same.

 

I have since found out that the EP was released in the U.S. as a 7-inch 45 by ABKCO in November 2012 for the Black Friday version of Record Store Day. I had stopped paying attention by then.

 

Well there is, of course, the demo "My Only Girl" readily available on boot. Pretty awful, I felt that the Pitney arrangement was making the best of a crappy template.

 

Next, we have the first American-only single release, as well as the first Jagger/Richards A-Side:

Tell Me (1964)



Released: June 13, 1964 (US)
B-Side: I Just Want to Make Love to You
Charts: #24 (US)

Written by singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, "Tell Me" is a pop ballad. Richie Unterberger, on Allmusic, said in his review of the song, "It should be pointed out ... that the Rolling Stones, even in 1964, were more versatile and open toward non-blues-rooted music than is often acknowledged by critics."[1] The Rolling Stones' two previous singles bear out this observation: one had been the Lennon–McCartney-penned "I Wanna Be Your Man" (later recorded by The Beatles as well); another was Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away".

Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone magazine: "['Tell Me'] is very different from doing those R&B covers or Marvin Gayecovers and all that. There's a definite feel about it. It's a very pop song, as opposed to all the blues songs and the Motown covers, which everyone did at the time."[2]

The song's lyrics are a glimpse of a failed relationship and the singer's attempt to win back the girl's love:

I want you back again
I want your love again
I know you find it hard to reason with me
But this time it's different, darling you'll see

Regarding the lyrics, Unterberger says, "When [Jagger and Richards] began to write songs, they were usually not derived from the blues, but were often surprisingly fey, slow, Mersey-type pop numbers... 'Tell Me' was quite acoustic-based, with a sad, almost dispirited air. After quiet lines about the end of the love affair, the tempo and melody both brighten…"[1]

"Tell Me" was recorded in London in February 1964; versions both with and without Ian Stewart's piano were cut.[3][4] Jagger said: "Keith was playing 12-string and singing harmonies into the same microphone as the 12-string. We recorded it in this tiny studio in the West End of London called Regent Sound, which was a demo studio. I think the whole of that album was recorded in there."[2]

Richards said in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, "'Tell Me'... was a dub. Half those records were dubs on that first album, that Mick and I and Charlie and I'd put a bass on or maybe Bill was there and he'd put a bass on. 'Let's put it down while we remember it,' and the next thing we know is, 'Oh look, track 8 is that dub we did a couple months ago.' That's how little control we had."[5]

Early pressings of the UK release of the debut album mistakenly included the piano-less version of "Tell Me" (the 2:52 version); all subsequent releases have featured the version with piano.[4] The full-length (4:05 or 4:06) recording of this piano version, which appeared on the standard UK LP after the mistake was corrected, has an abrupt ending before the performance of the song finishes. Most other LP and CD versions of the UK debut album — as well as the Stones' debut US album, originally subtitled but later officially called England's Newest Hit Makers — contain an edited version of this recording, which fades out at around 3:48.

In June 1964 "Tell Me" was released as a single in the USA only. The single edit is 2:47. It peaked at # 24 for two weeks, and lasting in the Billboard Hot 100 for a total of 10 weeks.[citation needed] The B-side was a cover of the Willie Dixon song "I Just Wanna Make Love to You".

The Rolling Stones performed the song in concert in 1964 and 1965.[3]

Personnel[edit]

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals, tambourine
• Keith Richards – 12 string acoustic lead guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Jones – electric rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Bill Wyman – bass, backing vocals
• Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians

• Ian Stewart – piano

 

I never liked Tell Me very much and thought it was pretty weak. I prefer the b-side by a wide margin. The cover of Muddy Waters' I Just Wanna Make Love To You is great.

 

Well, it's better than the demos they were writing for other people at the time, but not by all that much. As Unterberger says, generic, fey, Merseybeat stuff - no better or worse than similar non-Beatle attempts at the time, and hardly in their wheelhouse. Telling that it was released as a single only in the U.S. - like the Fabs, the U.K. singles are the ones that mattered.

 

Tell Me
I like this song, but not that much. I like the sort of folky sound it has compared to the rest of their work. I'm not a big fan of the vocals on this song, and I wonder what they were trying to do with that nasally sound.

I Just Want to Make Love to You
I like this one a lot; It's one of my favorite early songs of theirs and is probably my favorite of their blues covers. I love the way they completely revamp what was a typical Muddy Waters/Willie Dixon song into an uptempo rock song. I think it's their first song that really sounds like the style that people associate with them.

 

"Tell Me" serves as proof that Jagger & Richards had not yet mastered the art of composing an Arthur Alexander sound-alike the way that Lennon & McCartney had (think of the much better "All I've Got To Do"). The chorus is just plain awful. Doo-Wop chords with Keith's tired sounding response vocal chiming in both arbitrarily and probably extemporaneously. It's no better or worse than this goofy give-away that the Beatles understandably turned down:

 

“Tell Me” is bonafide great Rolling Stones.
Finding their feet as composers.
The long version is preferred.

 

Me neither. Dreadful song. Thank God we didn't get that as a single in the UK.
"I Just Wanna Make Love To You" is teeeerrific.

 

Not really much of a fan of this track, but realize it was a necessary first step. Much prefer the B-side which has amazing energy.

 

In my early days of collecting records, most of my Rolling Stones knowledge revolved around the Hot Rocks compilation. Because it began with "Time Is On My Side," I thought that was their first single. So I was surprised to find the 45 of "Tell Me" -- with its picture sleeve! -- at a yard sale in 1974.

I never thought of the 45's picture sleeve as all that rare, probably because it was so "easy" for me to obtain, but it's about an 8 on the 1-10 rarity scale.

In the 1970s, "Tell Me" was reissued on London with the "5N" prefix. For unknown reasons -- perhaps the label misplaced the single edit in its files -- a new single version was created that is an early fade of the LP version rather than the 1964 edit. The newer 45 plays 3:30 or so, even though the label still lists the original single length. The trail-off wax has "5N-9682-A" rather than "DR 32989." This version exists on at least the "sunrise" label variant pressed at Bestway in New Jersey, and it may exist on 5N copies pressed earlier and later, or elsewhere.

 

Tell Me

This sounds a lot like The Beatles to me. It also reminds me of Spinal Tap's early years . Nice song, but doesn't really grab me.

I Just Want to Make Love to You

Charlie drives this song like a train. Just a flat-out rockin' song. Love the guitars.

 

This one seems to split opinion, which is understandable. I have always dug "Tell Me." I think it has atmosphere. I actually like Keith's backup vocals, amateurish as they may be. They give the song a unique vibe. My favorite filmmaker, Martin Scorsese, used this song beautifully in Mean Streets:



But Marty has always been great at music selection.

"I Just Want to Make Love to You" cooks. Awesome song.

 

Tell Me: I like this one a lot. Takes me waaaaaaay back in time.

 

I like that!

I'm not sure that I do ...

 

Yeah, I like Tell Me. That chorus has quite the groove. Also those staccato yet fuzzy guitar sounds are not very common.

 

If I can step back to "Not Fade Away " for a second , I'd like to mention that I probably didn't have much awareness of who Buddy Holly was or the "Bo Diddley " beat in 1964 when the Stones record was released so they helped educate me in a way.

 

Many many years ago when I used to hear Tell Me again again I always thought that the cruel cut at the end of the long 4:16 version is a shame. I wish there would be a boot with the whole cut. I love that song and wouldn't mind 10 minutes of it.

 

Count me in among the folks that don’t care much for the a-side, but love the b-side.

To me, “Tell Me” could’ve been written for a teenybopper act. I cringe when hearing it. It’s a necessary step for the Jagger/Richards songwriting team, but not a necessary Rolling Stones song, you dig?

“I Just Want To Make Love To You” just cooks, though. One of those Stones cover tunes that outshine all other versions I’ve heard.

 

I like Tell Me for the vocal. Jagger is just so good at singing one thing and conveying another. There's a louche kind of insincerity here, as though he's sick of being manipulated by the girl and is just going through it one more time, taking the piss as he goes. Jagger shows a great sense of humour in many of his lyrics and vocal performances, one of the things I admire about his work. The B-side, however, shows no ambiguity.

 

I'm with John here- I'm not a fan of "Tell Me" but "I Just Want To Make Love To You" is simply classic early Stones.

It does to me as well, and not in a good way. I don't think Mick and Keith were consciously trying to ape The Beatles with "Tell Me" but ultimately it ends up sounding that way IMO.

 

Great thread.

I've grown to love the early pre-album singles, EP and Saturday Club tracks. I've always loved the Stones' early recordings, but I've only come to grips with the UK vs US album conundrum since buying the MONO Box.

Charting the group's evolution at 45rpm is the way to go!

I think my favorite recording from this early period is Money. I love the raunchy groove on it. When I used to play the song as a deejay people would often ask who it was... they were really surprised when I showed them the EP.

 

I've always wondered if the Grateful Dead were educated in the same manner.

 

It’s worth noting that The Stones version of You Better Move On was regarded as a hit by many UK fans, due to the success of the EP. It’s the Stones equivalent of Twist And Shout.