Tumbling Dice
Encyclopedia
"Tumbling Dice" is a rock
song written by Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
for The Rolling Stones
' 1972 double album
Exile on Main St.
, and was the album's first single. The single peaked at #7 on the US charts and #5 in the UK.
The lyrics tell the story of a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman. The music has a blues boogie-woogie
rhythm. "Tumbling Dice" has been performed in many of the band's concerts. Cover versions have been created in such diverse styles as reggae
, bluegrass
and noise rock
. An updated version from a female perspective was also a top 40 single for Linda Ronstadt
in 1978, which is included in the film FM
.
. The song is a bluesy boogie-woogie
, heavy on Ian Stewart
's piano work. The two songs are similar in structure in that they have the same chord progression and a similar melody. Also, Jagger sings the hook to the accompaniment of Richards
' lone lead guitar. However, "Good Time Woman" lacked an opening riff
, a background choir and the beat which propels "Tumbling Dice"'s groove.
"Tumbling Dice" was recorded in the basement of the chateau Villa Nellcôte, near Villefranche-sur-Mer
, France. The recording schedule for Exile on Main St. had the band sleeping all day and recording with whoever was around at night. Both Charlie Watts
and producer Jimmy Miller play the drums simultaneously on the album's version of the song. The basic track of the song was recorded on 3 August 1971. Mick Taylor
, the Rolling Stones' second guitarist, played bass on the track, due to bassist Bill Wyman
's absence that night, and Mick Jagger plays guitar.
In Rolling With the Stones, Bill Wyman said: "On 3 August we worked on 'Good Time Woman' and when I arrived the following day I found Mick Taylor playing bass. I hung around until 3am then left." In the liner notes
to Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones
, Richards said, "I remember writing the riff
upstairs in the very elegant front room, and we took it downstairs the same evening and we cut it." Jagger said of the lyrics, "It's weird where your lyric things come from. On Tumbling Dice, I sat down with the house keeper and talked to her about gambling. She liked to play dice and I really didn't know much about it, but I got it off her and managed to make the song out of that." " He concluded, "Tumbling Dice" was written to fit Keith's riff. It's about gambling and love, an old blues trick."
Recording engineer Andy Johns
said, "I know we had a hundred reels of tape on the basic track. That was a good song, but it was really like pulling teeth. It just went on and on and on." Some have said that it may have taken as many as 150 takes to get the basic track of the song. The mixing of the album was also difficult. Jagger has never liked the final mix of the song. In an interview with Melody Maker
, Jagger said, "I think they used the wrong mix for that one. I know they did."
The single was released on 14 April 1972. It was the Rolling Stones' 23rd single in the United States and their 17th in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "Sweet Black Angel
", a song written by Jagger about Black Panther
activist Angela Davis
.
", with Aerosmith
's Joe Perry
saying the song is, "so laid-back, it really sucks you in..." The song's tempo has often been credited with creating that groove. In concert, Jagger and Richards have been known to argue over the speed of the song, with Jagger trying to push the song's tempo a bit faster.
The song's lyrical structure is irregular. While many songs have the same number of lines for the verse or chorus, the first verse has eight lines, the second verse has six lines, and the last verse has two lines. The song's first chorus has two lines, the second chorus has three, and the third chorus has twelve lines.
At the beginning of every chorus, the piano, bass and drums drop out and the backing vocals sing "you got to roll me" as the guitar plays the song's signature guitar figure
. The third chorus leads into the song's coda
. Slowly, the band's rhythm section works its way back into the song. The coda includes a call and response
with the backing vocals singing "you got to roll me" as Jagger and Richards respond by singing "keep on rolling." This happens over a pounding beat laid down by Charlie Watts. After a few measures, Watts resumes playing his regular drum pattern. The coda continues for another minute as Jagger ad-libs lyrics until the fade out
. It has now been acknowledged after more than 40 years, Jimmy Miller played the last part of the song right as the coda begins. Rumors state that Watts had trouble with the timing of the song, and Miller substituted the final recording.
in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, at the start of their 1972 North American Tour
. Since then, only four regular tour concerts and a handful of benefit shows have not included "Tumbling Dice". On 5 June 1982, ten years and two days after the Stones first performed it, they left the song off the set list
. The first two nights of the 1999 No Security Tour
did not feature "Tumbling Dice" making them the first regular tour concerts in 17 years not to feature "Tumbling Dice". On 17 September 2005 "Tumbling Dice" was missing from the set list of a show on the A Bigger Bang Tour
.
Linda Ronstadt joined the Rolling Stones onstage to sing "Tumbling Dice" on 21 July 1978.
Three live versions have been released on commercially available CDs. A live version of the song was recorded for Stripped
, the live album that documented the Voodoo Lounge Tour
, but was not a song on that album. The recording crossfades from a backstage vocal rehearsal of the song on solo piano to an onstage performance of the song. The backstage rehearsal was recorded at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France on 3 July 1995. The live performance happened at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida on 25 November 1994. This recording can be found on Rarities 1971-2003
. Love You Live
features a version recorded on 7 June 1976 at Les Abattoirs, Paris, France. The 2008 release Shine a Light captures a performance from the 2006 leg of the A Bigger Bang Tour.
Five live concert films have included "Tumbling Dice": Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones (1974), Rolling Stones - Live at the Max (1992), Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge (1995), Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon Tour '97-'98: Live in Concert (1998), Rolling Stones - Four Flicks
(2004), and The Biggest Bang
(2007).
On 21 May 1972, Top of the Pops
broadcast a film made of the Stones rehearsing "Tumbling Dice" in Montreaux for the 1972 tour. On 27 May 1972 The Old Grey Whistle Test showed the same footage.
, in his review for Rolling Stone
, took a paragraph to describe the song.
Disc
magazine on April 15, 1972, said:
The song has earned spots on numerous "best of" lists.
had a top 40 hit with "Tumbling Dice" in 1977. In an interview with Hit Parader magazine, Ronstadt said that her band played "Tumbling Dice" for soundchecks, but nobody knew the words. Jagger suggested that Ronstadt should sing more rock songs and suggested "Tumbling Dice". Ronstadt made him write down the lyrics.
In 2001, Hilary Rosen
, representing the RIAA
, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and listed a number of songs that would be in danger of censorship. Among those were Ronstadt's "Tumbling Dice", which Rosen (probably confusing it with "Midnight Rambler
") said was "a song about rape written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards."
The band Pussy Galore
covered all of the album Exile on Main St. on their album Exile on Main Street. Johnny Copeland recorded a cover version for Rolling Stones tribute album
Paint it, Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones. For Copeland, who died of complications from heart surgery, it would be the last song he would ever record.
The neo-nazi UK punk rock
band Skrewdriver
began their career during the 1970s as a Rolling Stones covers band
called Tumbling Dice.
American punk rock
band The Gaslight Anthem
released it as a single in November 2010.
Other cover versions include:
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
song 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...
for 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...
' 1972 double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
, and was the album's first single. The single peaked at #7 on the US charts and #5 in the UK.
The lyrics tell the story of a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman. The music has a blues boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
rhythm. "Tumbling Dice" has been performed in many of the band's concerts. Cover versions have been created in such diverse styles as reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
. An updated version from a female perspective was also a top 40 single for Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
in 1978, which is included in the film FM
FM (film)
FM is a 1978 directed by John A. Alonzo, and starring Michael Brandon, Eileen Brennan, Alex Karras and Cleavon Little. The screenplay was written by Ezra Sacks.This film was produced by Universal Pictures, and originally released to movie theaters in 1978....
.
Recording
"Good Time Woman", an early version of "Tumbling Dice", was recorded during the sessions for Sticky FingersSticky Fingers
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
. The song is a bluesy boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
, heavy on 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...
's piano work. The two songs are similar in structure in that they have the same chord progression and a similar melody. Also, Jagger sings the hook to the accompaniment of 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...
' lone lead guitar. However, "Good Time Woman" lacked an opening riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
, a background choir and the beat which propels "Tumbling Dice"'s groove.
"Tumbling Dice" was recorded in the basement of the chateau Villa Nellcôte, near Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...
, France. The recording schedule for Exile on Main St. had the band sleeping all day and recording with whoever was around at night. Both 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 producer Jimmy Miller play the drums simultaneously on the album's version of the song. The basic track of the song was recorded on 3 August 1971. Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
, the Rolling Stones' second guitarist, played bass on the track, due to bassist 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 absence that night, and Mick Jagger plays guitar.
In Rolling With the Stones, Bill Wyman said: "On 3 August we worked on 'Good Time Woman' and when I arrived the following day I found Mick Taylor playing bass. I hung around until 3am then left." In the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
to Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones
Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones
Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones is the sixth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones and was initially released worldwide, except in North America, in 1993...
, Richards said, "I remember writing the riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
upstairs in the very elegant front room, and we took it downstairs the same evening and we cut it." Jagger said of the lyrics, "It's weird where your lyric things come from. On Tumbling Dice, I sat down with the house keeper and talked to her about gambling. She liked to play dice and I really didn't know much about it, but I got it off her and managed to make the song out of that." " He concluded, "Tumbling Dice" was written to fit Keith's riff. It's about gambling and love, an old blues trick."
Recording engineer Andy Johns
Andy Johns
Andy Johns is an engineer and producer who worked on well-known rock albums such as Led Zeppelin's IV and The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. His sound is exemplified by Free's album Highway, which he engineered and produced....
said, "I know we had a hundred reels of tape on the basic track. That was a good song, but it was really like pulling teeth. It just went on and on and on." Some have said that it may have taken as many as 150 takes to get the basic track of the song. The mixing of the album was also difficult. Jagger has never liked the final mix of the song. In an interview with Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, Jagger said, "I think they used the wrong mix for that one. I know they did."
The single was released on 14 April 1972. It was the Rolling Stones' 23rd single in the United States and their 17th in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "Sweet Black Angel
Sweet Black Angel
"Sweet Black Angel" is a song by The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1972 album Exile on Main St. It was also released on single as the b-side to "Tumbling Dice" prior to the album....
", a song written by Jagger about Black Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
activist Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
.
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 vocals, rhythm guitar - 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...
- lead guitar, backing vocals - Mick TaylorMick TaylorMichael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
- bass guitar, slide guitar - 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:...
- drums - Jimmy Miller - drums (from the coda onwards)
- Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
- piano - Bobby KeysBobby KeysBobby Keys is an American saxophone player, and has performed with other musicians as a member of one of the notable horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by The Rolling Stones, The Who, Harry Nilsson, Delaney Bramlett, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, Eric Clapton and Joe...
- saxophone - Jim PriceJim PriceJim Price may refer to:*Jim Price , former NFL tight end*Jim Price , former Detroit Tigers catcher and current sportscaster*Jim Price , manager of the New York Gothams...
- trumpet - Clydie KingClydie KingClydie Crittendon is an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist....
, Vanetta Fields - backing vocals
Structure
"Tumbling Dice" is known for its "grooveGroove (popular music)
Groove is the sense of propulsive rhythmic "feel" or sense of "swing" created by the interaction of the music played by a band's rhythm section . Groove is a consideration in genres such as salsa, funk, rock, fusion, and soul...
", with Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's Joe Perry
Joe Perry (musician)
Anthony Joseph "Joe" Perry is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith. He is influenced by many rock artists especially The Rolling Stones and The Beatles...
saying the song is, "so laid-back, it really sucks you in..." The song's tempo has often been credited with creating that groove. In concert, Jagger and Richards have been known to argue over the speed of the song, with Jagger trying to push the song's tempo a bit faster.
The song's lyrical structure is irregular. While many songs have the same number of lines for the verse or chorus, the first verse has eight lines, the second verse has six lines, and the last verse has two lines. The song's first chorus has two lines, the second chorus has three, and the third chorus has twelve lines.
At the beginning of every chorus, the piano, bass and drums drop out and the backing vocals sing "you got to roll me" as the guitar plays the song's signature guitar figure
Figure (music)
A musical figure is the shortest idea in music, a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression and rhythmic . The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'": it produces a "single...
. The third chorus leads into the song's coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
. Slowly, the band's rhythm section works its way back into the song. The coda includes a call and response
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
with the backing vocals singing "you got to roll me" as Jagger and Richards respond by singing "keep on rolling." This happens over a pounding beat laid down by Charlie Watts. After a few measures, Watts resumes playing his regular drum pattern. The coda continues for another minute as Jagger ad-libs lyrics until the fade out
Fade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
. It has now been acknowledged after more than 40 years, Jimmy Miller played the last part of the song right as the coda begins. Rumors state that Watts had trouble with the timing of the song, and Miller substituted the final recording.
Live
The Rolling Stones performed "Tumbling Dice" live for the first time on 3 June 1972 at the Pacific ColiseumPacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum is an indoor arena, at Hastings Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Completed in 1968, at the former site of the Pacific National Exhibition, the arena currently holds 16,281, for ice hockey, though capacity at its opening was 15,713....
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, at the start of their 1972 North American Tour
The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972
The Rolling Stones American Tour 1972, often referred to as the S.T.P. Tour , was a much-publicized and much-written-about concert tour of The United States and Canada in June and July 1972 by The Rolling Stones...
. Since then, only four regular tour concerts and a handful of benefit shows have not included "Tumbling Dice". On 5 June 1982, ten years and two days after the Stones first performed it, they left the song off the set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
. The first two nights of the 1999 No Security Tour
No Security Tour
The No Security Tour was a Rolling Stones concert tour encompassing 25 cities in North America in 1999. It was in support of their concert album No Security and recent studio album Bridges to Babylon.-History:...
did not feature "Tumbling Dice" making them the first regular tour concerts in 17 years not to feature "Tumbling Dice". On 17 September 2005 "Tumbling Dice" was missing from the set list of a show on the A Bigger Bang Tour
A Bigger Bang Tour
A Bigger Bang Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album A Bigger Bang...
.
Linda Ronstadt joined the Rolling Stones onstage to sing "Tumbling Dice" on 21 July 1978.
Three live versions have been released on commercially available CDs. A live version of the song was recorded for 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...
, the live album that documented 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...
, but was not a song on that album. The recording crossfades from a backstage vocal rehearsal of the song on solo piano to an onstage performance of the song. The backstage rehearsal was recorded at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France on 3 July 1995. The live performance happened at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida on 25 November 1994. This recording can be found on Rarities 1971-2003
Rarities 1971-2003
Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records - as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America - and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003...
. Love You Live
Love You Live
Love You Live is a double live album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the infamous El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977...
features a version recorded on 7 June 1976 at Les Abattoirs, Paris, France. The 2008 release Shine a Light captures a performance from the 2006 leg of the A Bigger Bang Tour.
Five live concert films have included "Tumbling Dice": Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones (1974), Rolling Stones - Live at the Max (1992), Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge (1995), Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon Tour '97-'98: Live in Concert (1998), Rolling Stones - Four Flicks
Four Flicks
Four Flicks is a 4 disc DVD released by The Rolling Stones. The collection documents several of the Stones' shows from their 2002-2003 Licks World Tour. The DVD debuted at # "1 on Billboard's music video chart selling 53,000 copies during the first week...
(2004), and The Biggest Bang
The Biggest Bang
The Biggest Bang is a four-disc concert DVD/BD collection released by the Rolling Stones. The collection documents several shows from the band's 2005-2006 legs of the A Bigger Bang Tour. The DVD debuted at #1 on Billboard's music video chart selling 20,422 copies during the first week and has...
(2007).
On 21 May 1972, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
broadcast a film made of the Stones rehearsing "Tumbling Dice" in Montreaux for the 1972 tour. On 27 May 1972 The Old Grey Whistle Test showed the same footage.
Critical reception
Due to its length and musical scope, most reviews of Exile on Main St. glossed over the album's individual songs to focus on the album as a whole. However, Lenny KayeLenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...
, in his review for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, took a paragraph to describe the song.
- But it's left to "Tumbling Dice" to not just place a cherry on the first side, but to also provide one of the album's only real moves towards a classic. As the guitar figure slowly falls into Charlie's inevitable smack, the song builds to the kind of majesty the Stones at their best have always provided. Nothing is out of place here. Keith's simple guitar figure providing the nicest of bridges, the chorus touching the upper levels of heaven and spurring on Jagger, set up by an arrangement that is both unique and imaginative. It's definitely the cut that deserved the single, and the fact that it's not likely to touch number one shows we've perhaps come a little further than we originally intended.
Disc
Disc (magazine)
Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into Record Mirror. It was also known for periods as Disc Weekly and Disc and Music Echo ....
magazine on April 15, 1972, said:
- Unison guitars from Keith and Mick Taylor, rather than double-tracking, lead us out and down the hole in the middle. By that time, hypnosis has set in and you are cursing the fact that the single doesn't last six minutes longer."
The song has earned spots on numerous "best of" lists.
- Spin magazine ranked it as the third greatest single of all time.
- Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as #424 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All TimeThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
. - Q magazine ranked it #258 in their 1001 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Cover versions
Linda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
had a top 40 hit with "Tumbling Dice" in 1977. In an interview with Hit Parader magazine, Ronstadt said that her band played "Tumbling Dice" for soundchecks, but nobody knew the words. Jagger suggested that Ronstadt should sing more rock songs and suggested "Tumbling Dice". Ronstadt made him write down the lyrics.
In 2001, Hilary Rosen
Hilary Rosen
Hilary Beth Rosen is a partner in the political communications firm, SKDKnickerbocker with offices in DC and New York. Prior to joining SKDK, she was the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London based PR and communications strategy firm. She joined Brunswick in...
, representing the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and listed a number of songs that would be in danger of censorship. Among those were Ronstadt's "Tumbling Dice", which Rosen (probably confusing it with "Midnight Rambler
Midnight Rambler
"Midnight Rambler" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed.The lyrics take the point of view of a roaming rapist/murderer; some of the words are reportedly quotes from Albert DeSalvo's confession to the Boston Strangler's crimes. Keith...
") said was "a song about rape written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards."
The band Pussy Galore
Pussy Galore (band)
Pussy Galore was an American garage rock band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1985. They had a constantly fluid line-up until their demise in 1990. Like many garage rock outfits, they were dogged by substance abuse problems...
covered all of the album Exile on Main St. on their album Exile on Main Street. Johnny Copeland recorded a cover version for Rolling Stones tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Paint it, Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones. For Copeland, who died of complications from heart surgery, it would be the last song he would ever record.
The neo-nazi UK punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver was an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. They later evolved into one of the first neo-Nazi rock bands, playing a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement and becoming known as the most prominent white power skinhead...
began their career during the 1970s as a Rolling Stones covers band
Tribute band
A tribute act is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act - sometimes one which has disbanded, ceased touring or is deceased. Probably the largest class of tributes acts are Elvis impersonators, individual performers who mimic the songs and style...
called Tumbling Dice.
American punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, consisting of Brian Fallon , Alex Rosamilia , Alex Levine and Benny Horowitz...
released it as a single in November 2010.
Other cover versions include:
- Phish performed this song as part of their Halloween show in 2009 when they covered the entire Exile on Main Street album.
- Keith Urban performed a version on The Jimmy Fallon Show (May 2010).
- Andrea Re recorded a version for Exile on Blues Street, an album of ten songs from Exile on Main St. redone by musicians.
- Legendary Bluegrass band Honeywell recorded a version for Paint It Blue: A Bluegrass Tribute to the Rolling Stones.
- Reggae version by Owen GrayOwen GrayOwen Gray also known as Owen Grey is one of Jamaica's 'Foundation' singers whose work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been credited as Jamaica's first home-grown singing star....
did a version of it for a 1972 single. - The band God Mountain recorded a version of it for an album of Stones covers called As Tears Go By.
- Barry GoldbergBarry GoldbergBarry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
would record a version on Stoned Again. - Molly HatchetMolly HatchetMolly Hatchet is an American southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1975. They are widely known for their hit song "Flirtin' with Disaster" from the album of the same title. The band, founded by Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, took its name from a prostitute who allegedly mutilated...
would record a version on Kingdom of XII. - Jill JohnsonJill JohnsonJill Anna Maria Johnson, , is a Swedish country- and pop-singer and songwriter. She performed the Melodifestivalen 1998 winning song Kärleken är, and represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with that song, which finished 10th with 53 points. In 2003 she again entered Melodifestivalen...
and Kim CarnesKim CarnesKim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....
recorded this song as a duet, which is on the 2007 Jill Johnson album Music RowMusic Row (Jill Johnson album)Music Row is a cover album by Jill Johnson, recorded in Nashville and released on 28 November 2007. The album sold platinum in Sweden.-Track listing:#Rhythm Guitar - 3.20#Jolene - 3.30...
. - Bon JoviBon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
have covered it live. A live version appears on the special edition version of their album These DaysThese Days (Bon Jovi album)These Days is Bon Jovi's sixth studio album, released on June 27, 1995. This was the first album Bon Jovi released after the departure of bassist Alec John Such. Hugh McDonald unofficially replaced Such as bassist...
. - The Gaslight Anthem covered this song on a limited edition 7" released in 2010.