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It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by The Rolling Stones from the album It's Only Rock 'n' Roll |
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| Released | 1974 | |||||||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Rock | |||||||||||||
| Length | 5 min 07 s | |||||||||||||
| Label | Rolling Stones/Virgin | |||||||||||||
| Writer | Jagger/Richards | |||||||||||||
| Producer | The Glimmer Twins | |||||||||||||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" is the lead single from English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones' 1974 album It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.
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Recorded in the spring of 1974, "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" is credited to usual Stones writers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but it is well known that Jagger wrote the song with the help of then-future Stones guitarist Ron Wood. The song was recorded one night in a studio at Wood's house, "The Wick" in Richmond, London.[1] David Bowie was backing singer to Jagger's lead, and Willie Weeks played bass with Kenney Jones on drums. The song on the album is similar to that original recording, with the Stones keeping the original rhythm track.
The meaning of "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" was summed up by Jagger in the liner notes to the 1993 compilation Jump Back; "The idea of the song has to do with our public persona at the time. I was getting a bit tired of people having a go, all that, 'oh, it's not as good as their last one' business. The single sleeve had a picture of me with a pen digging into me as if it were a sword. It was a lighthearted, anti-journalistic sort of thing."
| “ | If I could stick my pen in my heart, And spill it all over the stage; Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya, Would you think the boy is strange? Ain't he strange? | ” |
| “ | If I could win ya, if I could sing ya, a love song so divine, Would it be enough for your cheating heart, If I broke down and cried? If I cried? I said I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it | ” |
Released in July 1974, "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" charted modestly, reaching only number sixteen in the United States, while reaching number ten on the UK Singles Chart. The song was promoted by a memorable early music video, showing the band dressed in sailor suits and playing in a tent which eventually fills with bubbles. This video was one of Mick Taylor's last appearances as a member of the band.
Even though initial reception of the song was cool, it has since become a very popular song at live shows. The Stones actually change the key, from E to B, during live recordings, as can be heard on 1977's Love You Live and 2004's Live Licks. According to Richards, the song was recorded in the wrong key, but they did not realise this until they played it live.
The B-side featured the hazy balladry of "Through the Lonely Nights", although being a successful song it never made it to the final recordings of the "It's Only Rock N' Roll" album.
The song was covered by hard rock band Twisted Sister.
Weird Al also did a polka cover of the song as the first and longest of his "Hot Rocks Polka", which consists entirely of The Stone's songs. It was used in the soundtrack for his movie UHF.
In 2000, a charity cover version with participation of many artists was released to raise money for Children with Cancer in the U.K. The single was released only in the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia.
- ^ "The Stones London" (English). Community Walk (2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-06.