Today, Jim at Song Lyric Sunday is asking us to write about a song that was not originally released as an album single or never became a single.
The songs Iâve chosen were written and recorded by one of the biggest bands to come out of the UK in the 60s. No, not the Beatles! This time Iâm talking about the Rolling Stones. Contrary to what some people believe, a person can be into both the Beatles and the Stones. Shocking, isnât it!
Hereâs a quick bio: The Rolling Stones were formed in London by founding members, vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts. During their early years, Jones was the primary leader of the band.
Just like all bands starting out at that time, the Stones’ catalog consisted of cover songs. When they began writing their own songs, the Jagger-Richards partnership became the band’s primary songwriting and creative force; this alienated Brian Jones, who developed a drug addiction that by 1968 interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully. Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor. In 1971 the Stones released the album Sticky Fingers, the first of eight consecutive #1 studio albums in the US. Taylor left the band at the end of 1974 and was replaced by Ronnie Wood. Following Wyman’s departure in 1993, the band continued as a foursome.
Two of the Rolling Stonesâ songs that were never released as singles are both mega hits â âGimme Shelterâ off their 1969 album Let It Bleed and âCanât You Hear Me Knockingâ from their first #1 album, Sticky Fingers.
âGimme Shelterâ is about the political and social unrest at the time. There was the war in Vietnam, race riots, the murders by the Manson Family and politicians being assassinated. Mick Jagger sings of needing shelter from this âstormâ. Merry Clayton is the female vocalist featured singing the line âRape, murder, itâs just a shot awayâ. She delivered a chilling vocal with her voice cracking on the word âmurderâ at the 3:01 mark and you can hear Jagger in the background saying âWhoo!â The Stones didnât release the song as a single but Merry Clayton did …. in 1970 which made it to #73 in the US.
This is âGimme Shelterâ by the Rolling Stones; be sure to listen for Merry in the background.
âCanât You Hear Me Knockingâ is the fourth track on the Rolling Stonesâ 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The first two and a half minutes of the song are down and dirty, riff-tastic Rolling Stones. The last four and a half minutes are an improvised, instrumental jam session. The length of this song made for a tough sell; in order to improve the chances of radio play, singles were held to around three minutes. The entire track was captured in one take, with the jam being a happy accident. The band had assumed the tape machine had been stopped and were surprised to find the entire session had been captured. Originally they were going to end the song before the jam started, but were so pleased with the results, they decided to keep it in.
The four singles from Sticky Fingers were âBrown Sugar,â âBitch,â âWild Horses,â and âSway.â However, popular consensus is âCanât You Hear Me Knockingâ stands miles higher than âSwayâ. Not only does it bear one of the Rolling Stonesâ most instantly recognizable guitar riffs, but itâs been included in the soundtracks for a number of movies including Casino and The Fighter.
But whatâs the song all about? What are the Stones trying to tell us? Itâs probably best not to read too much into the lyrics of this one since even Mick Jagger isnât exactly sure what he wrote! Appearing on the track is Bobby Keys, who had debuted his saxophone for the Stones on âLive With Meâ back on Let It Bleed. Mick Taylor’s got that impressive guitar track starting at the 4:32 mark.
So, since I donât have any spectacular words of wisdom to add to that, letâs just enjoy the Stones and âCanât You Hear Me Knockingâ.
The Rolling Stones’ estimated record sales of 200 million makes them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. They have won three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Billboard and Rolling Stone magazine have ranked them as one of the greatest musical groups of all time. I definitely concur.
Thanks so much to Jim for all the work he does week after week on Song Lyric Sunday.
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