Heart of Stone (song)
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| “Heart of Stone” | |||||
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| Single by Rolling Stones from the album The Rolling Stones, Now! |
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| Released | 19 December 1964 | ||||
| Recorded | 2 November 1964 | ||||
| Genre | Blues, R&B | ||||
| Length | 2:50 | ||||
| Label | Decca (UK) London (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Jagger/Richards | ||||
| Producer | Andrew Loog Oldham | ||||
| Rolling Stones singles chronology | |||||
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"Heart Of Stone" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band the Rolling Stones.
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[edit] Inspiration
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Heart of Stone" is a heavily inspired by the blues and R&B, being one of their first original compositions released as a lead single.
In his review of the song, Richie Unterberger says, "'Heart of Stone' [is] a slow and soulful, dramatic ballad with the kind of vaguely discordant, droning guitars heard on many an early Rolling Stones slow number. What was impressive was how the Jagger/Richards song, though similar in some respect to American soul ballads of the period... was not explicitly derivative of any one blues or soul song that they were covering on their mid-'60s records. The lilt of the verses owed something to country music and the mournful harmonies heard on the latter part of the verses added to the overall feeling of melancholy moodiness."[1]
The song sees the singer discuss his life as a womanizer, and how one girl in particular won't break his heart;
| “ | There've been so many girls that I've known; I've made so many cry and still I wonder why; Here comes the little girl; I see her walking down the street; She's all by herself, I try and knock her off her feet; But she'll never break, never break, never break, never break, This heart of stone | ” |
[edit] Recording and release
Recording began on November 2, 1964 at Los Angeles' RCA Studios. Each of the Stones plays their respective instruments, with Jagger on vocals, Richards and Brian Jones on guitars, Bill Wyman on bass, and Charlie Watts on drums. Jack Nitzsche performs both tambourine and piano.
"Heart of Stone" was released in December 1964, and became their second Top 20 hit in the US, reaching #19. The song was released the following February on the US-only album The Rolling Stones, Now!, but was not given a UK release until September 1965 release of Out of Our Heads. It would later be included on the compilation discs Hot Rocks and Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass).
A different, longer version released in 1975 on the album Metamorphosis had been recorded on 21-23 July 1964 with Jimmy Page on guitar and Clem Cattini on drums, probably as a demo.
The British post-punk group The Mekons covered the song on their 1988 album So Good It Hurts, twisting the song's impact with female vocals provided by Sally Timms. The Allman Brothers Band convered the song on their 2003 album Hittin' the Note. Sonic's Rendezvous Band has also played the song.
[edit] References
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. The Rolling Stones "Heart of Stone". allmusic. 2007 (accessed 1 July 2007).
[edit] External links
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