19th Nervous Breakdown
Encyclopedia
"19th Nervous Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones
.
The song was written by Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
during their 1965 tour of the United States. The song was recorded during the Aftermath sessions between 3 and 8 December 1965 at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, at the conclusion of their fourth North American tour. The song talks of a difficult, spoiled girl who cannot appreciate life. Mick Jagger
says he came up with the title first, and then wrote the lyrics around the title. It was released as a single on 4 February 1966 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the United States, and in the United Kingdom Record Retailer
chart. However, it hit #1 in the NME
chart and the BBC
's Pick of the Pops
chart, both of which were more widely recognised in Britain at the time.
The hypnotic riff Brian Jones
is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley
's song "Diddley Daddy
," Diddley being a major influence on the Rolling Stones' style.
The song is also well-known for Bill Wyman
's so-called "dive-bombing" bass line at the end of the song.
Like many early Rolling Stones recordings, "19th Nervous Breakdown" has been officially released only in mono
sound. A stereo
mix of the song has turned up in private and bootleg
collections. One version of the stereo mix features a radically different vocal from Jagger, who alternates between mellow on the verses and rawer on the chorus.
This was one of three songs ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" and "As Tears Go By
" being the other two) the Rolling Stones performed on their Ed Sullivan Show appearance in February 1966.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
' "The Great Airplane Strike" is nearly an exact copy of "19th Nervous Breakdown", right down to the vocal harmony on every other line in the verses. The Monkees
' Song, "Your Auntie Grizelda
", written in 1966, was influenced by the Rolling Stones' song "19th Nervous Breakdown"
Tom Verlaine
, lead guitarist and songwriter of Television
, noted that hearing this song during his adolescence inspired him to pick up the guitar.
Saturday Night Live
, Martin Short
(then a cast member on the show) portrayed Jagger in a skit, singing "19th Nervous Breakdown" with Gary Kroeger
(who was portraying Julio Iglesias
).
The song was used as the opening theme for the short-lived TV drama Miami Medical.
In the 2000 Warner Bros film Red Planet
, directed by Antony Hoffman, Gallacher (Val Kilmer) is heard singing the refrain to himself on two separate occasions.
As the number 19 is a thematic concern in Stephen King
's The Dark Tower
series, this song is referred to several times within it.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
.
The song was written by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
during their 1965 tour of the United States. The song was recorded during the Aftermath sessions between 3 and 8 December 1965 at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, at the conclusion of their fourth North American tour. The song talks of a difficult, spoiled girl who cannot appreciate life. Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
says he came up with the title first, and then wrote the lyrics around the title. It was released as a single on 4 February 1966 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the United States, and in the United Kingdom Record Retailer
Record Retailer
Record Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
chart. However, it hit #1 in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
chart and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops
Pick of the Pops is a BBC Radio programme, originally based on the Top 20 UK singles chart and first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1955. It transferred to BBC Radio 1 from 1967...
chart, both of which were more widely recognised in Britain at the time.
The hypnotic riff Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's song "Diddley Daddy
Diddley Daddy
"Diddley Daddy" is a song by rock and roll musician Bo Diddley. The song was issued as a single on Checker Records in June 1955. It was Bo Diddley's second single, and followed on the heels of the success of "Bo Diddley." The song spent four weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the summer of 1955,...
," Diddley being a major influence on the Rolling Stones' style.
The song is also well-known for Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
's so-called "dive-bombing" bass line at the end of the song.
Like many early Rolling Stones recordings, "19th Nervous Breakdown" has been officially released only in mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
sound. A stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
mix of the song has turned up in private and bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
collections. One version of the stereo mix features a radically different vocal from Jagger, who alternates between mellow on the verses and rawer on the chorus.
This was one of three songs ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
" and "As Tears Go By
As Tears Go By (song)
"As Tears Go By" is a song written by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham, and was a popular hit for both British singer Marianne Faithfull in 1964 and The Rolling Stones in 1965.-History:...
" being the other two) the Rolling Stones performed on their Ed Sullivan Show appearance in February 1966.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
' "The Great Airplane Strike" is nearly an exact copy of "19th Nervous Breakdown", right down to the vocal harmony on every other line in the verses. The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
' Song, "Your Auntie Grizelda
Your Auntie Grizelda
Your Auntie Grizelda is a novelty song written by Diane Hildebrand and Jack Keller, made famous by The Monkees. The song appeared on both the TV series as well as their 1967 album, More of The Monkees. Although never released as a single, it has appeared on several of the band's subsequent...
", written in 1966, was influenced by the Rolling Stones' song "19th Nervous Breakdown"
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.-Biography:...
, lead guitarist and songwriter of Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, noted that hearing this song during his adolescence inspired him to pick up the guitar.
Cultural references to the song
On a season 10 episode of the sketch comedySketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
(then a cast member on the show) portrayed Jagger in a skit, singing "19th Nervous Breakdown" with Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger is an American actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kroeger attended Northern University High School and graduated from Northwestern University in 1981. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during Lorne Michaels' hiatus...
(who was portraying Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
).
The song was used as the opening theme for the short-lived TV drama Miami Medical.
In the 2000 Warner Bros film Red Planet
Red Planet (film)
Red Planet is a 2000 Technicolor science fiction film directed by Antony Hoffman, starring Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss. It was released on November 10, 2000.-Plot:...
, directed by Antony Hoffman, Gallacher (Val Kilmer) is heard singing the refrain to himself on two separate occasions.
As the number 19 is a thematic concern in Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series, this song is referred to several times within it.
Chart performance
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom (Record Retailer Record Retailer Record Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker... ) |
2 |
| United Kingdom (NME) | 1 |
| United States (Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... ) |
2 |
| United States (Billboard R&B Singles Chart Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... ) |
32 |