I Wanna Be Your Man
Encyclopedia
"I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song that was recorded separately by The Beatles
and The Rolling Stones
. The Rolling Stones' version was released a few weeks earlier. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney
, and finished by Lennon and McCartney in the corner of a room while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking.
on 1 November 1963, the Stones' version was an early hit, peaking at no. 12 on the British chart. Their rendition is a frenetic electric rock/blues song featuring Brian Jones
' distinctive slide guitar
and Bill Wyman
's driving bass playing. It is one of the few Rolling Stones songs featuring backing vocals by Jones. In the US, the song was released on 6 March 1964 as the B-side to "Not Fade Away
".
According to various accounts, either the Rolling Stones' manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham
or the Rolling Stones themselves ran into Lennon and McCartney on the street as the two were returning from an awards luncheon. Hearing that the band was in need of material for a single, Lennon and McCartney went to their session at De Lane Lea Studio and finished off the song – whose verse they had already been working on – in the corner of the room while the impressed Rolling Stones watched.
In his review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder says, "the Stones went into the studio and cut a slashing, savage rendition that betrayed not a trace of Beatlesque cuteness, Brian Jones', Keith Richard's, and Bill Wyman's amps were seemingly turned up to '11'
while Mick Jagger turned the lyrics — which sounded like bold yearnings in Ringo's voice — into what could have been a prelude to sexual assault. That performance, coupled with Jones' distinctive (and equally savage) slide guitar work, said volumes about who the Stones were (versus the Beatles), even as it marked them as British rock & roll's premiere stylists, and put them out there on the cutting edge of what could even get played. And it did get played, and did sell — as a cover of a Lennon-McCartney song (released three weeks before the Beatles' own version), at a moment when anything about rock and roll from Liverpool would get a chance at a hearing, and anything to do with the Beatles demanded extra attention, the song made it to number 12 in the UK in the hands of the Rolling Stones."
Released only as a single, the Rolling Stones' rendition never appeared on a studio album. In 1989, it was issued on Singles Collection: The London Years
.
and appeared on the group's second UK album, With The Beatles
, released 22 November 1963. It was driven by a heavily tremoloed, open E-chord on a guitar played through a Vox AC30
amplifier. John Lennon was dismissive of the song in 1980, saying:
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and The Rolling Stones
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 Rolling Stones' version was released a few weeks earlier. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, and finished by Lennon and McCartney in the corner of a room while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking.
The Rolling Stones' version
Released as their second singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on 1 November 1963, the Stones' version was an early hit, peaking at no. 12 on the British chart. Their rendition is a frenetic electric rock/blues song featuring Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
' distinctive slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
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...
's driving bass playing. It is one of the few Rolling Stones songs featuring backing vocals by Jones. In the US, the song was released on 6 March 1964 as the B-side to "Not Fade Away
Not Fade Away (song)
"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly's band The Crickets in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957...
".
According to various accounts, either the Rolling Stones' manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
or the Rolling Stones themselves ran into Lennon and McCartney on the street as the two were returning from an awards luncheon. Hearing that the band was in need of material for a single, Lennon and McCartney went to their session at De Lane Lea Studio and finished off the song – whose verse they had already been working on – in the corner of the room while the impressed Rolling Stones watched.
In his review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder says, "the Stones went into the studio and cut a slashing, savage rendition that betrayed not a trace of Beatlesque cuteness, Brian Jones', Keith Richard's, and Bill Wyman's amps were seemingly turned up to '11'
Up to eleven
"Up to eleven" or "these go to eleven" is an idiom from popular culture which has come to refer to anything being exploited to its utmost abilities, or apparently exceeding them, such as a sound volume control. Similarly, the expression "turning it up to eleven" refers to the act of taking...
while Mick Jagger turned the lyrics — which sounded like bold yearnings in Ringo's voice — into what could have been a prelude to sexual assault. That performance, coupled with Jones' distinctive (and equally savage) slide guitar work, said volumes about who the Stones were (versus the Beatles), even as it marked them as British rock & roll's premiere stylists, and put them out there on the cutting edge of what could even get played. And it did get played, and did sell — as a cover of a Lennon-McCartney song (released three weeks before the Beatles' own version), at a moment when anything about rock and roll from Liverpool would get a chance at a hearing, and anything to do with the Beatles demanded extra attention, the song made it to number 12 in the UK in the hands of the Rolling Stones."
Released only as a single, the Rolling Stones' rendition never appeared on a studio album. In 1989, it was issued on Singles Collection: The London Years
Singles Collection: The London Years
Singles Collection: The London Years is a compilation album of Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein....
.
Personnel
- Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir 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....
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the... - Brian JonesBrian JonesLewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
– backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles... - Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith 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...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Bill WymanBill WymanBill 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...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Charlie WattsCharlie WattsCharles 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:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
The Beatles' version
The Beatles' version was sung by Ringo StarrRingo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and appeared on the group's second UK album, With The Beatles
With the Beatles
With The Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group The Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me...
, released 22 November 1963. It was driven by a heavily tremoloed, open E-chord on a guitar played through a Vox AC30
Vox AC30
The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound. First introduced in 1958 due to the growing demand for higher-wattage amplifiers, it became an iconic amplifier for British musicians and soon for others....
amplifier. John Lennon was dismissive of the song in 1980, saying:
Personnel
- Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– double-trackedDoubletrackingDouble tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the...
vocalLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, maracasMaracásMaracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:... - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– backing vocalBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, rhythm semi-acoustic syprano guitarSemi-acoustic guitarA semi-acoustic guitar or hollow-body electric is a type of electric guitar with both a sound box and one or more electric pickups. This is not the same as an electric acoustic guitar, which is an acoustic guitar with the addition of pickups or other means of amplification, either added by the... - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– backing vocal, electric bass guitar - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– lead electric syprano guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
– Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
- The Beatles' version personnel per Ian MacDonaldIan MacDonaldIan MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...