"Rock and a Hard Place" is a song 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 ...

from their 1989 album ''

Steel Wheels Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

''. It is the second single from the album, and remains the most recent ''

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 advertise ...

'' top 40 hit by the band.

Recording

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 ...

, "Rock and a Hard Place" was recorded at

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

and London's

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

in the spring months of 1989. On the song, Richards said in the liner notes to the 1993 compilation album ''

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 ...

'' (on which it was included), "This was like going back to the way we worked in the early days, before ''

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

'', when we were living round the corner from each other in London. Mick and I hadn't got together in four years since '' Dirty Work'', but as soon as we met up in Barbados for a fortnight, with a couple guitars and pianos, everything was fine." At the time of release, Jagger said, "This is one of those songs like "

Start Me Up "Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album ''Tattoo You''. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the ''Bi ...

", where the minute you hear the opening notes, you head for the dance floor. It's real '70s, in the best possible way." With Jagger on lead vocals, Richards,

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

and Jagger perform guitars for the recording.

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

and

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

perform bass and drums, respectively. Keyboards are played by Matt Clifford and

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

. The Kick Horns provided brass for the recording.

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 ...

Sarah Dash Sarah Dash (August 18, 1945 – September 20, 2021) was an American singer and actress. She first appeared on the music scene as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Dash was later a member of Labelle, and worked as a singer, sess ...

and

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocal ...

all perform backing vocals.

Release

"Rock and a Hard Place" was released as the second single from ''Steel Wheels'' on 13 November 1989 in the UK. "Cook Cook Blues", a slow

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

outtake from the 1983 album ''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

'', was the

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

. The single reached No. 63 in the UK, No. 23 in the U.S. and No. 1 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. The song has been performed by the Stones sporadically since its release, appearing on the

Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg ...

Voodoo Lounge Tour The Voodoo Lounge Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones to promote their 1994 album ''Voodoo Lounge''. This was their first tour without bassist Bill Wyman, and their first with touring bassist Darryl Jones, as an additional m ...

Bridges to Babylon Tour The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones. Staged in support of their album ''Bridges to Babylon'', the tour visited stadiums from 1997 to 1998. It grossed over $274 million, becoming the second-highest-gr ...

, and

Licks Tour The Licks Tour was a worldwide concert tour undertaken by the Rolling Stones during 2002 and 2003, in support of their 40th anniversary compilation album ''Forty Licks''. The tour grossed over $300 million, becoming the second highest grossin ...

. A music video was shot at

Sullivan Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 New England Patriots season, 1971 and served ...

, in

Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 at ...

during the band's three sold out night stand at that venue and directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the University ...

. The video reached the Top 10 of MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown in December, 1989. A live recording captured during the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour was included on the live albums '' Flashpoint'', ''

Live at The Tokyo Dome ''Live at the Tokyo Dome'' is a live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 2012. It was recorded at the Tokyo Dome in Japan in 1990. The album was released exclusively as a Online distribution, digital download through Google Music on 10 July ...

'' and '' Steel Wheels Live''. The studio album and/or single version were included on the compilations ''

'' and '' Honk''.

Track listing

#"Rock and a Hard Place" – 4:05 #"Cook Cook Blues" – 4:08

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles The Rolling Stones songs 1989 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey