"Stick to Me" is a song by British rock musician

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

, recorded with his backing band

the Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

. The song was released on his 1977 album, ''

Stick to Me ''Stick to Me'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his first group, the Rumour. Background Parker, interviewed by Steve Hammer, recalled the making of the album: Critical reception ''Rolling Stone'' c ...

''. Inspired by "Tickets to Water Falls" by

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

, the song features a string arrangement that Parker sought to "use with power". The song was released as a single in some territories in 1978, but did not chart. It has since become a live favorite of Parker's.

Background

Parker said of writing the song, "When I wrote 'Stick to Me' I wrote it in ... bits. I heard strings as soon as I wrote it. I was very keen on doing it, that was my idea". Parker came up with the instrumental break to the song himself, communicating it to arranger

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

by humming. The song's composition was based on "Tickets to Water Falls" by

. Parker explained, "No one would ever know that Jack Bruce's 'Tickets for the Waterfall,' (sic) from his masterwork '' Songs for a Tailor'', is the inspiration for 'Stick To Me' (the song), musically and to a large extent lyrically. People just think it's

r and b Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

! Because it had a horn section on it, they thought it was like

Southside Johnny John Lyon (born December 4, 1948), better known by his stage name Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of ...

or something. Most listeners only see the surface and therefore do not see the 'masterful grasp' of other musical ideas, if not exactly genres". Of the song's string-laden opening, Parker said, "I've always been into strings. I've always thought they were magic. The Rolling Stones, The Stones have used them great, ELO have used them great. I'd like to see the Sex Pistols use them. They can be used with power. Any instrument, bloody crumhorn. There aren't any rules so I'll break them".

Release and reception

"Stick to Me" was released as a single in New Zealand in 1978, with "The Heat in Harlem" on the B-side. The song was also in contention for single release in the United States; Parker explained in an 1978 interview, "In America I'll just go on what the DJs say they're playing the most. ... 'Stick to Me' is getting played quite a lot". Ultimately, the song was released as the B-side to "The Heat in Harlem" in the US, though "Stick to Me" was also released on a promo single for DJ play. No single release of the song charted. Parker said of the song in 1978, Stick to Me', the song itself, I don't think there's another song like it written anywhere".

Live history

Parker has performed the song live since the tour for ''Stick to Me'', during which the song served as Parker's opener. Parker also performed the song when he reunited

in the early 2010s. Parker explained of the decision to perform the song, "On one rehearsal, someone mentioned 'Stick To Me' and without any of us studying it we just played it, and to our amazement got it almost right first time, so we threw that in on that particular tour".

References

{{Graham Parker & The Rumour 1978 singles 1977 songs Graham Parker songs Vertigo Records singles