Black Limousine
Encyclopedia
"Black Limousine" is a song by The Rolling Stones
featured on their 1981 album Tattoo You
.
, Keith Richards
and Ronnie Wood (though incidentally one of two featured on Tattoo You). "Black Limousine" is a hard blues
number (described as "fast mid-tempo blues of no specific nature" by Jagger) which heavily hearkens back to the Rolling Stones' earliest recordings from their ABCKO/London
albums. Using a heavy bellow, Jagger delivers his lines and spells out the growing rifts in an aging romance:
On the lyrics, Richards said in 1981, "That song does have a more generous view of relationships with women... I guess, because the women in our lives at the moment have made a change in our attitudes toward it. I guess because everything that comes out from the Stones is just as it comes out... That's how we used to feel about it, and that's how we feel about it now. This is purely a guess... but it seems logical that the people you're with are the ones who are gonna influence you most, whether you intend it or not. Mick might intend to sit down and write a real Stones song - you know, 'Blechhh! You cruddy piece of shit, you dirty old scrub box!' But obviously, that's not the way he's feeling now. It's not the way I'm feeling now."
On the music, Wood said in 2003, "'Black Limousine' came about from a slide guitar riff that was inspired in part by some Hop Wilson
licks from a record that I once owned... And there was another guy called Big Moose, who I've never heard of before or since... He was an old slide guitar guy who had one particular lick that he would bring in every now and again. I thought, 'That's really good, I'm going to apply that' - and so subconsciously I wrote the whole song around that one little lick, building on it, resolving it and taking it round again... That was something that clicked musically straight away with the guitars and drums and Mick, and then we immediately got into sparring about the lyrics for it, since it was obviously crying out for some words... Mick's got his own style and that's why I let him interpret it in his own way..."
' Pathé Marconi Studios for the album Some Girls
. "Black Limousine" would again be brought out to be worked on by the band during the 1979 sessions for Emotional Rescue
. However it would again return to the vault before again re-emerging during the Tattoo You sessions in mid-1981. With Jagger on vocals and shrieking harmonica, Richards and Wood performing the song's electric guitars, with Wood providing the solo. Ian Stewart
performs the song's piano. Charlie Watts
and Bill Wyman
perform the song's drums and bass, respectively.
On his rare credit, Wood continued, saying, "I fought until I was blue in the face to get the credit, going on and on: 'I wrote that, I wrote that.' One of the lessons I had to learn was that if you want to get a credit, it has to happen there and then in the studio, as you're recording it."
"Black Limousine" was performed heavily by the band during their American Tour 1981
/European Tour 1982
. It was also performed during the 1995 leg of the Voodoo Lounge Tour
. A recording was featured as a bonus track on the Japanese release of 1995's Stripped
, as well as being the b-side to the album's lead single "Like a Rolling Stone
".
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...
featured on their 1981 album Tattoo You
Tattoo You
Tattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, it proved to be a big critical and commercial success...
.
The song
"Black Limousine" is one of the few credited to Mick JaggerMick 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....
, 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...
and Ronnie Wood (though incidentally one of two featured on Tattoo You). "Black Limousine" is a hard blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
number (described as "fast mid-tempo blues of no specific nature" by Jagger) which heavily hearkens back to the Rolling Stones' earliest recordings from their ABCKO/London
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
albums. Using a heavy bellow, Jagger delivers his lines and spells out the growing rifts in an aging romance:
On the lyrics, Richards said in 1981, "That song does have a more generous view of relationships with women... I guess, because the women in our lives at the moment have made a change in our attitudes toward it. I guess because everything that comes out from the Stones is just as it comes out... That's how we used to feel about it, and that's how we feel about it now. This is purely a guess... but it seems logical that the people you're with are the ones who are gonna influence you most, whether you intend it or not. Mick might intend to sit down and write a real Stones song - you know, 'Blechhh! You cruddy piece of shit, you dirty old scrub box!' But obviously, that's not the way he's feeling now. It's not the way I'm feeling now."
On the music, Wood said in 2003, "'Black Limousine' came about from a slide guitar riff that was inspired in part by some Hop Wilson
Hop Wilson
Hardin "Hop" Wilson was an American Texas blues steel guitar player. Wilson gained the nickname "Hop" as a devolution of "Harp" due to his constant playing of a harmonica as a child...
licks from a record that I once owned... And there was another guy called Big Moose, who I've never heard of before or since... He was an old slide guitar guy who had one particular lick that he would bring in every now and again. I thought, 'That's really good, I'm going to apply that' - and so subconsciously I wrote the whole song around that one little lick, building on it, resolving it and taking it round again... That was something that clicked musically straight away with the guitars and drums and Mick, and then we immediately got into sparring about the lyrics for it, since it was obviously crying out for some words... Mick's got his own style and that's why I let him interpret it in his own way..."
Recording and aftermath
Recording began in January and ran through March 1978 during the band's sessions at ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
' Pathé Marconi Studios for the album Some Girls
Some Girls
Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records, catalogue COC 39108...
. "Black Limousine" would again be brought out to be worked on by the band during the 1979 sessions for Emotional Rescue
Emotional Rescue
Emotional Rescue is the 15th British and 17th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Upon release, the album topped the charts in both the US and UK.-History:...
. However it would again return to the vault before again re-emerging during the Tattoo You sessions in mid-1981. With Jagger on vocals and shrieking harmonica, Richards and Wood performing the song's electric guitars, with Wood providing the solo. Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (musician)
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
performs the song's piano. Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
and 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...
perform the song's drums and bass, respectively.
On his rare credit, Wood continued, saying, "I fought until I was blue in the face to get the credit, going on and on: 'I wrote that, I wrote that.' One of the lessons I had to learn was that if you want to get a credit, it has to happen there and then in the studio, as you're recording it."
"Black Limousine" was performed heavily by the band during their American Tour 1981
Rolling Stones American Tour 1981
The Rolling Stones' American Tour 1981 was a concert tour of stadiums and arenas in the United States to promote the album Tattoo You. It was the largest grossing tour of 1981 with $50 million in ticket sales...
/European Tour 1982
Rolling Stones European Tour 1982
The Rolling Stones' European Tour 1982 was a concert tour of Europe to promote the album Tattoo You. It was in effect the European continuation of their long and successful 1981 US tour, and promoted by Bill Graham...
. It was also performed during the 1995 leg of the Voodoo Lounge Tour
Voodoo Lounge Tour
The Voodoo Lounge Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones to promote their 1994 album Voodoo Lounge. This was their first tour without bassist Bill Wyman; he was replaced by Darryl Jones. The tour grossed $320 million, becoming the highest grossing tour of any artist at that time...
. A recording was featured as a bonus track on the Japanese release of 1995's Stripped
Stripped (Rolling Stones album)
Stripped is The Rolling Stones album released in 1995 during the Voodoo Lounge Tour. The album was a mixture of live recordings from smaller venues and studio recordings - made with no overdubs - of songs mostly from their previous catalogue...
, as well as being the b-side to the album's lead single "Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
".