''The Rolling Stones'' is the debut EP released by

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 ...

on 10 January 1964.

History

It was released both to capitalise on their first Top 20 hit "

I Wanna Be Your Man "I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song first recorded and released as a single by the Rolling Stones, and then recorded by the Beatles. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney, and finished by Lennon and McCartney in ...

" and to test the commercial appeal of the band before their UK label Decca Records would commit to letting them record an album. ''The Rolling Stones'' includes four songs recorded at two separate sessions in August and November 1963. ''The Rolling Stones'' features R&B covers of some of the band's favourite artists, and some recent American hits. Impact Sound is officially listed as the EP's producer. Eric Easton is possibly involved, Andrew Loog Oldham produced the opening track "Bye Bye Johnny".

Release and reception

Despite the rawness of the production, the EP reached no. 1 in the UK EP charts in February 1964, having entered the chart the week after its release. The EP was released in Canada in 1964 by London Records Canada. The release was identical to the UK version including the picture sleeve along with the British label number DFE 8560. The Canadian EP pressing also used British stampers. Bruce Eder of

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 ...

writes: "The real centrepiece was Arthur Alexander's ' You Better Move On,' an American-spawned favourite that the band had been doing in concert — this was their chance to show a softer, more lyrical and soulful sound that was every bit as intense as the blues and hard R&B they'd already done on record..." "Bye Bye Johnny" and "Money" did not see official US release until 1972's retrospective ''

More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) ''More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)'' is a compilation album by the Rolling Stones released in December 1972 on London Records. The album was a follow-up to the hugely successful '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971''. When '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971 ...

''; "You Better Move On" was featured on 1965's ''

December's Children (And Everybody's) ''December's Children (And Everybody's)'' is the fifth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 4 December 1965. Compiled from disparate sources across the band's recording career up to that point, includin ...

''; and "Poison Ivy" was issued in 2002 on the remastered version of ''More Hot Rocks''. Unavailable for decades, ''The Rolling Stones'' was reissued on

Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

in 2004 on the ''

Singles 1963–1965 ''Singles 1963–1965'' is a box set compilation of the singles and EPs by The Rolling Stones spanning the years 1963 to 1965. Part of a series of repackages by ABKCO Records, who licence The Rolling Stones' 1963–1970 recorded works, '' ...

'' box set through

ABKCO Records ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major 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 ...

. In November 2010, it was made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set titled ''The Rolling Stones 1964-1969'', by itself digitally at the same time, and in 2011 as part of the ''60's UK EP Collection'' digital compilation. On November 23, 2012, the EP was reissued on 7-inch vinyl record as a part of Record Store Day Black Friday 2012.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Rolling Stones *

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 ...

– lead vocals,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

, harmonica,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

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 ...

– guitar, backing vocals * Bill Wyman –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * Charlie Watts – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolling Stones, The 1964 debut EPs The Rolling Stones EPs Albums produced by Andrew Loog Oldham Decca Records EPs London Records EPs