''December's Children (And Everybody's)'' is the fifth American studio album by the English rock band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, released on 4 December 1965. Compiled from disparate sources across the band's recording career up to that point, including the UK version of ''

Out of Our Heads ''Out of Our Heads'' is the 3rd British and 4th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in two editions with different covers and track listings. In the US, London Records released it on 30 July 1965, whil ...

'', it features their then-recent transatlantic hit single "

Get Off of My Cloud "Get Off of My Cloud" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for a single to follow the successful " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Recorded in Hollywood, California, in early Se ...

", as well as their own remake of

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

's Jagger/Richards-penned hit " As Tears Go By", which was released as the album's second single in the US.

Recording and music

It is the last of the group's early albums to feature numerous cover songs; writers

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

wrote only half of the songs themselves. There had been no sessions to record the album; most of the songs were drawn from the sessions for the UK edition of ''

'' in September 1965 in Los Angeles. Many of the tracks had appeared earlier in the UK versions of Rolling Stones albums, but had been left off their American counterparts. Other tracks were unreleased tracks that had been recorded during other recording sessions, or had been singles-only releases. Joining core members Mick Jagger (vocals),

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

(guitars), Keith Richards (guitars), Bill Wyman (bass), and Charlie Watts (drums) was former Stones member Ian Stewart on piano. As with most of their early albums, it was produced by band manager

Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Loog Oldha ...

Title and packaging

The title of the album came from the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham (who facetiously credits it to " Lou Folk-Rock Adler" in his liner notes on the back cover). According to Jagger, it was Oldham's idea of hip,

Beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

poetry. The front cover photo of the band, by

Gered Mankowitz Gered Mankowitz (born 3 August 1946) is an English photographer who focused his career in the music industry. He has worked with a range of artists from The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix, and in other divisions of the photography industry, i ...

, had previously been used for the UK edition of ''Out of Our Heads''.

Release and reception

''December's Children (And Everybody's)'' reached in the US, where it was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

"gold". Bassist Bill Wyman quotes Jagger in 1968 calling the record " otan album, it's just a collection of songs." Accordingly, it is only briefly detailed in Wyman's otherwise exhaustive book ''Rolling with the Stones''. The group's second US , ''

'', was the highest-charting single on the album, also a major chart topper in the band's native UK and several other markets. In August 2002, the album was reissued in a new remastered CD and

SACD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows mul ...

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

ABKCO Records ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the ...

. "Look What You've Done" remains the album's only cut issued in true stereo.

Track listing

Recording sessions

Most of the songs were recorded 5–6 September 1965 at the

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

studio in Hollywood, California, except: *" You Better Move On" – 8 August 1963,

Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. The building was once West Hampstead Town Hall, and had been converted to a recording studio b ...

, London *"Look What You've Done" – 11 June 1964, Chess Records studio, Chicago *" Route 66" and " I'm Moving On" – 5–7 March 1965, live performances, England *" As Tears Go By" – 26 October 1965,

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists like the Kinks, the Who, Bee Gee ...

, London

Personnel

The Rolling Stones *

– lead vocals , backing vocals , tambourine *

– electric guitar , acoustic guitar , backing vocals , co-lead vocals *

– electric guitar , acoustic guitar , slide guitar , harmonica , organ , backing vocals * Bill Wyman – bass guitar , backing vocals * Charlie Watts – drums Additional personnel * Ian Stewart – piano *

Mike Leander Michael George Farr (30 June 1941 – 18 April 1996), known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer. He worked variously with The Beatles, David McWilliams ("Days of Pearly Spencer"), Gary Gli ...

– string arrangement

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1965 albums ABKCO Records albums Albums produced by Andrew Loog Oldham London Records albums The Rolling Stones albums