"It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" is the lead single from 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 ...

' 1974 album ''

It's Only Rock 'n Roll ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' is the 12th British and 14th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the last Rolling Stones album to feature guitarist Mick Tay ...

''. Writing is credited to

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 ...

and the single reached the top ten in the UK

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

and top 20 in the United States.

Inspiration and recording

Recorded in late 1973 and completed in the spring of 1974, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" is credited to the Rolling Stones songwriting team

and

, although future Rolling Stones guitarist

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...

collaborated with Jagger on it. The song was originally recorded one night in a studio at Wood's house, "

The Wick The Wick is a Grade I listed Georgian house in Richmond, Greater London, located at the corner of Nightingale Lane and Richmond Hill. The house, designed in 1775 by architect Robert Mylne for Lady St. Aubyn, was for many years the family ho ...

" in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

was backing singer to Jagger's lead, and

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...

played bass with

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces ...

on drums. The song on the album is similar to that original recording, with the Stones keeping the original rhythm track. The meaning of the lyrics was summed up by Jagger in the liner notes to the 1993 compilation ''

Jump Back ''Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones'' is the sixth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones. It was initially released worldwide, except in the US, in 1993. The American release came on 24 August 2004. It was the first Rolling S ...

''; "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." Jagger also has said that as soon as he wrote it, he knew it was going to be a single. He said it was his answer to everyone who took seriously what he or the band did. According to Richards there was opposition to it being a single but they persisted, saying it ''had'' to be the next single. He said that to him "that song is a classic. The title alone is a classic and that's the whole thing about it."

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "hard rocker with the traditional Stones power that displays a really great hook" with "driving instrumentation and Jagger's inimitable vocal style."

Music video

The song was promoted by a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

directed by

Michael Lindsay-Hogg Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet (born 5 May 1940) is an American-born television, film, music video, and theatre director. Beginning his career in British television, Lindsay-Hogg became a pioneer in music film production, directing ...

, showing the band dressed in

sailor suit A sailor suit is a uniform traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in a navy or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as dress clothes. Origins and history In the Royal Navy, the ...

s and playing in a tent which eventually fills with bubbles. This video was one of

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

's last appearances as a member of the band as he decided to leave in December 1974 (though he did not play on this song).

, who does not appear in the video, played acoustic guitar on the recording, alongside

on electric guitar. The froth was detergent and, according to Richards, the idea for the sailor suits came about at the last minute because none of the members wanted to get their own wardrobe ruined. Jagger said the entire filming process was "most unpleasant" and was also extremely lengthy. The cameras and lights could not be inside the tent for fear of electrocution. Because of this risk, in order for the video to be filmed at all, the band had to be insured for quite a reasonable sum. Richards is quoted as saying: "Poor old Charlie (Watts) nearly drowned... because we forgot he was sitting down."

Charts

Release

Released in July 1974, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" reached number sixteen in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and number ten on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The B-side was the ballad "Through the Lonely Nights", which was not featured on any album until the 2005 compilation '' Rarities 1971-2003''. The Rolling Stones regularly perform the song in concert, although in a different key from the studio recording: on their concert albums ''

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 El Mocambo nightclub concert ...

'' (1977) and ''

Live Licks ''Live Licks'' is a double live album by the Rolling Stones and was released in 2004. Coming six years after ''No Security'', this ninth official Rolling Stones full-length live release captures performances from the band's year-long 2002–2 ...

'' (2004), the song is in B, whereas the studio track is in E. According to Richards, the song was recorded in the wrong key, but they did not realise this until they played it live.

Cover versions

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

also did a polka cover of the song as the first and longest of his "Hot Rocks Polka", which consists entirely of The Stones' songs. It was used in the soundtrack for his movie '' UHF''. *

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

performed the song as a duet with Mick Jagger during the

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert in 1985. Turner also included the song (as well as "

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as ...

") on her 1982 tour and her 2008–2009 50th Anniversary Tour, where she was joined by

Lisa Fischer Lisa Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album ''So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer ...

. *At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert, U2 singer

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

ended the performance of "

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

" with the chorus of "It's Only Rock 'n Roll". Later in the same concert U2 and Mick Jagger performed "

Gimme Shelter "Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones. Released as the opening track from band's 1969 album ''Let It Bleed''. The song covers topics of war, murder, rape and fear. It features prominent guest vocals by American singer ...

" and " Stuck in a Moment". *The chorus was parodied as "it's only knock and knowall, but I like it" in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

' final song on ''

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 18 November 1974 by Charisma Records and is their last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. It ...

'' album, "''it.''", released late 1974. The line was a joke referring to the listeners over-interpreting

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's lyrics, referred to as 'knowalls'. *

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo consisting of brothers T.J. Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). Born in Deale, Maryland, the duo signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

and

the War and Treaty The War and Treaty are an American husband and wife duo consisting of singer-songwriters Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. Their debut studio album ''Healing Tide'' (2018), received critical acclaim upon its release. Soon afterwards, they rel ...

teamed up to cover the song for the 2023 Stones tribute album '' Stoned Cold Country'' and performed the song live at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards.https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/cma-awards-brothers-osborne-war-and-treaty-1234627204/

Artists for Children's Promise version

In 1999, a cover of "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" was record by the supergroup Artists for Children's Promise, featuring an international ensemble of artists. The single was released to raise money for Children's Promise. It was released on 9 December 1999 and peaked at number 19 in United Kingdom.

Artists for Children's Promise

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Kelly Jones Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics. Early life and debut Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the s ...

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* Dolores O’Riordan of

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* Steve Cradock &

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Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It) 1974 singles The Rolling Stones songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Music videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg 1974 songs EMI Records singles Songs about rock music