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"My Way of Giving" is a song written by
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...
and
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces ...
. Initially demoed by their band
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
in 1966, it was given to British singer
Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 19 ...
, who released his version as a single in early 1967. It was Farlowe's first single not written by
Jagger–Richards
Jagger–Richards (spelled Jagger–Richard from 1963 to 1978) is the songwriting partnership between English musicians Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, of the Rolling Stones. They are one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in history ...
since 1965's "
The Fool". The Small Faces themselves decided to go on and record a version which was released on two different albums (albeit with minor differences) on two different record labels.
The song has since been recorded by multiple other artists, including French rock singer
Johnny Hallyday
Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France.
During a career spanning 57 ...
in French as "Je N'Ai Jamais Rien Demandé" for his 1967 studio album ''Johnny 67.''
The Only Ones
The Only Ones were an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the mus ...
recorded a demo in 1975 that was released on their 1984 album
''Remains''. Rock artist
Rod Stewart would also go on to cover the track in 1970. Drummer
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 ...
and keyboardist
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
appear on Small Faces and Stewart's rendition. Marriott plays on Farlowe's and Small Faces version while Lane appears on Farlowe's, Small Faces and Stewart's versions, becoming the only member of Small Faces to do so.
Chris Farlowe version
Overview
In 1966,
Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 19 ...
had achieved a number one single 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 ...
with
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
song "
Out of Time".
During this period, he only recorded songs that the Rolling Stones had offered him, starting with "
Think
In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...
" Of the eleven singles he recorded for
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
, five were Rolling Stones songs. Towards the end of 1966, he'd met rock band
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...
, who were signed to
Decca Records at the time.
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...
, lead singer and guitarist of the group, admired Farlowe, and considered him one of the finest British singers of the era.
Marriott had even considered recording an entire album together with him.
However, these plans were scrapped, and the Small Faces gave him a song they'd previously recorded as a demo, "My Way Of Giving."
In a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
interview, Farlowe claims that Marriott had approached him and asked him to listen to the recording. Farlowe considered it nice and brought it 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 ...
, who also voiced his enthusiasm about the track and they decided to record it as a single. The session for it occurred in early 1967, which features both Marriott and
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces ...
on guitars and backing vocals, along with Farlowe's backing band the Thunderbirds.
Farlowe's version was released on 27 January 1967.
The single did not breach the top forty, peaking at number 48.
It was one of his final singles to reach the UK singles chart. The last two being "Moanin'", which reached number 46.
Chris Farlowe's last song to chart was ultimately "
Handbags and Gladrags
"Handbags and Gladrags" is a song written in 1967 by Mike d'Abo, who was then the lead singer of Manfred Mann. D'Abo describes the song as "saying to a teenage girl that the way to happiness is not through being trendy. There are deeper values. ...
" which reached number 33.
The B-Side was "You're So Good For Me" (alternatively known as "You're So Good To Me") which was written by
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
founder
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 ...
, Andrew Rose and David Skinner (both of British group
Twice as Much
Twice as Much was a British musical duo, composed of Dave Skinner (born David Ferguson Skinner, 4 July 1946, London) and Andrew Rose (born Andrew Colin Campbell Rose, 12 March 1946, Edgware, Middlesex), harmony singers who wrote much of their ow ...
) and
William Bell.
Personnel
*
Chris Farlowe
Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single " Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which rose to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 19 ...
– lead vocals
*
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...
– guitars, backing vocals
*
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces ...
– backing vocals
*the Thunderbirds – backing instrumentation, backing vocals
*
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 ...
– producer
*Art Greenslade – arranger
Small Faces version
Overview
During late 1966, Small Faces had begun experimenting with their sound, and started recording several
psychedelic compositions, including "
(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?
"(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?" (also known as "Tell Me Have You Ever Seen Me?" or "Have You Ever Seen Me?") is a song by English rock band Small Faces. It has a complicated release history and was issued by both Decca and Immediate Records in ...
" "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", "
My Mind's Eye" and "That Man", after a party in which they were introduced to
orange slices spiked with
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
. However, an additional track they started writing around this period was "My Way of Giving". They were signed with
Decca Records during this period, with
Don Arden
Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbat ...
as their manager and producer.
However, their relation with the label had begun growing sour, after several incidents, including the unauthorized release of "My Mind's Eye" as a single in late 1966. They split up with Decca after Don Arden attempted to tell their parents regarding their drug use. Almost immediately after, Small Faces signed
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
, who granted them much more studio time.
Two versions of the song exist. One of them was released on the Decca compilation album
''From the Beginning'' during the earlier parts of June 1967.
The second, "official" version was released on their eponymous second studio album
''Small Faces'' on 23 June 1967.
The reason behind this is that when ''Small Faces'' was announced, Decca Records and Don Arden compiled an album of various leftovers that the Small Faces recorded for Decca, which included "My Way Of Giving."
The main difference is that the Decca recording has an alternate vocal take, both by Marriott and Lane, who in that version adds the line "Don't Worry Baby" in between a couple of verses (which is also included on the Farlowe version). This is omitted from the Immediate version. While the Decca version exists solely in mono, the Immediate version was released in both
mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
and
stereo, with the instrumental backing panned to the left, with a guitar overdub and vocals appearing in the right channel. Both versions utilize the same backing track.
"My Way of Giving" was one of two songs that appears on both ''From the Beginning'' and ''Small Faces''. The other is "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?" which did not use the same backing track on the Immediate version. In the US, the song was first issued on 17 March 1968, on ''
There Are But Four Small Faces
''There Are But Four Small Faces'' is a studio album by British rock group Small Faces, released in 1968 through Immediate Records and distributed by CBS Records. It was the band's first LP release in the United States, and is a modified version ...
'' which compiled various singles along with tracks from ''Small Faces''. The song is considered a major factor in the writing partnership between Marriott and Lane. It is also considered one of Small Faces best compositions of all times. Strangely, it is not featured on ''Here Come The Nice: Immediate Years box set 1967-69'' which compiled all recordings from the Immediate era.
"My Way of Giving" was issued as the B-Side of the re-issue of "
Itchycoo Park
"Itchycoo Park" is a song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, first recorded by their group, the Small Faces. Largely written by Lane, it was one of the first music recordings to feature flanging, an effect at that time made possible ...
" on 28 November 1975, which reached number nine in the UK charts.
Personnel
*
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...
– lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
*
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces ...
– backing vocals, bass guitar
*
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
– backing vocals,
Hammond organ, piano
*
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 ...
– drums
Rod Stewart version
Overview
In 1970, British rock singer
Rod Stewart recorded the song for his studio album
''Gasoline Alley''. Stewart, who at the time was a member of
Faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
, the successor of Small Faces, had been critical of the original Small Faces recording. He had called it "monstrous" in a
''ZigZag'' interview.
This was most likely due to the fact that Marriott had recently left Small Faces, and been replaced by Stewart and
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 ...
, formerly of
the Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
Firs ...
.
In comparison to the Small Faces version (which is relatively short, clocking in at a mere two minutes), Stewart's rendition of the track is a long, drawn out ballad heavily featuring
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
on his signature Hammond organ. It features members of the Faces, providing backing instrumentals, along with Lane, who also provides backing vocals to the track. It was first released on ''Gasoline Alley,'' which was his second solo studio album on 12 June 1970. In a positive retrospective review by
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, he claims that Stewart claims the track for himself.
Personnel
*
Rod Stewart – lead vocals
*
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
*
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 ...
– lead guitar
*
Ian McLagan
Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...
– Hammond organ
*
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 ...
– drums
References
External links
Small Faces official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Way of Giving
1967 songs
1967 singles
Immediate Records singles
Small Faces songs
Songs written by Ronnie Lane
Songs written by Steve Marriott
Rod Stewart songs
The Only Ones songs
Chris Farlowe songs
Johnny Hallyday songs