''The Rolling Stones'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in the UK on 17 April 1964. The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

on 29 May 1964, subtitled ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', which later became its official title.

Recording

Recorded at Regent Sound Studios in London over the course of five days in January and February 1964, ''The Rolling Stones'' was produced by then-managers Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton. The album was originally released by

in the UK, while the US version appeared on the

label. The majority of the tracks reflect the band's love for R&B.

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

(whose professional name until 1978 omitted the "s" in his surname) were fledgling songwriters during early 1964, contributing only one original composition to the album: " Tell Me (You're Coming Back)". Two songs are credited to "

Nanker Phelge Nanker Phelge (also known as Nanker-Phelge) was a collective pseudonym used between 1963 and 1965 for several Rolling Stones group compositions. According to manager Andrew Loog Oldham the 'Nanker Phelge' credit was mostly used for tracks where th ...

" – a pseudonym the band used for group compositions from 1963 to 1965.

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

and

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 h ...

both contributed to the recording sessions, and are referred to as "Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene" in the subtitle of the Phelge instrumental "Now I've Got a Witness".

Release

First pressings of the album, with matrix numbers ending in 1A, 2A, 1B, and 2B, have a 2:52 version of "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", which was pressed from the wrong master tape. Subsequent pressings include the 4:06 version. Early labels and covers also have misprints with the fourth track on side 1 listed as "Mona", which was later changed to "I Need You Baby", the subtitle of "Now I've Got a Witness" written "Like Uncle Gene and Uncle Phil", the word 'If' omitted from "You Can Make It If You Try", and 'Dozier' spelt 'Bozier'. "Route 66" is listed as "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" on some versions of the album, and some later versions of the album have "I Need You Baby" listed as "Mona (I Need You Baby)" and the subtitles of "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" removed entirely. The album cover photo was taken by Nicholas Wright. The cover bears no title or identifying information other than the photo and the Decca logo – an "unheard of" design concept originated by manager Andrew Oldham. Upon its release, ''The Rolling Stones'' became one of 1964's biggest sellers in the UK, staying at No. 1 for twelve weeks. The original British version of the album was released on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

in 1984, but became out-of-print on CD for many years afterwards. In November 2010, it was made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set titled ''The Rolling Stones 1964–1969'', and by itself digitally at the same time. The original title was also reinstated as part of '' The Rolling Stones in Mono'' CD box set, released on 30 September 2016. The album was only released in mono in both the UK and US; no true stereo mix was ever made. The US version of the album, originally self-titled but later officially called ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', was the band's debut US album and was released by London Records on 29 May 1964, a month and a half after the British version. The track " Not Fade Away" (the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of the band's third UK single) replaced " I Need You Baby", and the titles of the tracks "Now I've Got a Witness (Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" were shortened to "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me" on most versions of the American release. Upon its release, ''The Rolling Stones'' reached No. 11 in the US, going gold in the process. To date, this is the Rolling Stones' only American studio album that has failed to place in the top five on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album charts. In August 2002, the album, by now officially called ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', was reissued as a new remastered CD and SACD

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 A ...

ABKCO ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is an 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 Animal ...

Critical reception

The album was included in Robert Dimery's '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' (2010). Sean Egan of

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

wrote of the record in 2012: "It's a testament to the group's brilliance that the result was still the best album to emerge from the early 1960s British blues boom … the ensemble lovingly deliver some of their favourite shots of rhythm 'n' blues." It was voted number 418 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''.

Legacy

For his 1972 single " The Jean Genie", David Bowie aimed to replicate the sound of ''The Rolling Stones''. He said: "I didn't get that near to it, but it had a feel that I wanted – that '60s thing."

Track listing

UK edition

US edition

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, except where noted: The Rolling Stones *

vocals, handclaps, tambourine; harmonica ,

maraca A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s *

backing vocals, lead and rhythm (6- and 12-string) guitars *

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

backing vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar ;

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

; harmonica ; tambourine ; whistling *

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

backing vocals, bass, handclaps *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

drums, handclaps *Unidentified musician (played by the Rolling Stones) tambourine Additional musicians * Allan Clarke backing vocals *

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...

backing vocals *

piano *

percussion, maracas * Ian Stewart

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

; piano Production and additional personnel * Andrew Loog Oldham producer *Bill Farley

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

*Nicholas Wright photography

Charts

Certifications

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolling Stones, The 1964 debut albums ABKCO Records albums Albums produced by Andrew Loog Oldham Decca Records albums London Records albums The Rolling Stones albums 1960s covers albums