''The Rolling Stones'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band of the same name, released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in the UK on 16 April 1964. The American edition of the LP, with a slightly different track list, came out on

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

on 30 May 1964, subtitled ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', which later became its official title.

Recording

Recorded at Regent Sound Studios in London over the course of five days in January and February 1964, ''The Rolling Stones'' was produced by then-managers

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 ...

and Eric Easton. The album was originally released by

in the UK, while the US version appeared on the

label. The majority of the tracks reflect the band's love for R&B.

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 ...

(whose professional name until 1978 omitted the "s" in his surname) were fledgling songwriters during early 1964, contributing only one original composition to the album: " Tell Me (You're Coming Back)". Two songs are credited to " Nanker Phelge" – a pseudonym the band used for group compositions from 1963 to 1965.

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

and

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

both contributed to the recording sessions, and are referred to as "Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene" in the subtitle of the Phelge instrumental "Now I've Got a Witness".

Release

First pressings of the album, with matrix numbers ending in 1A, 2A, 1B, and 2B, have a 2:52 version of "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)", which was pressed from the wrong master tape. Subsequent pressings include the 4:06 version. Early labels and covers also have misprints with the fourth track on side 1 listed as "Mona", which was later changed to "I Need You Baby"", the subtitle of "Now I've Got a Witness" written "Like Uncle Gene and Uncle Phil", the word 'If' omitted from "You Can Make It If You Try", and 'Dozier' spelt 'Bozier'. "Route 66" is listed as "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" on some versions of the album, and some later versions of the album have "I Need You Baby" listed as "Mona (I Need You Baby)" and the subtitles of "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" removed entirely. The album cover photo was taken by Nicholas Wright. The cover bears no title or identifying information other than the photo and the Decca logo – an "unheard of" design concept originated by manager Andrew Oldham. Upon its release, ''The Rolling Stones'' became one of 1964's biggest sellers in the UK, staying at No. 1 for twelve weeks. The original British version of the album was released 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 1984, but became out-of-print on CD for many years afterwards. In November 2010, it was made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set titled ''The Rolling Stones 1964–1969'', and by itself digitally at the same time. The original title was also re-instated as part of the ''Rolling Stones in Mono'' CD box set, released on 30 September 2016. The album was only released in mono in both the UK and US; no true stereo mix was ever made. The US version of the album, originally self-titled but later officially called ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', was the band's debut US album and was released by

on 30 May 1964, a month and a half after the British version. The track " Not Fade Away" (the

A-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 company ...

of the band's third UK single) replaced " I Need You Baby", and the titles of the tracks "Now I've Got a Witness (Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)" and "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" were shortened to "Now I've Got a Witness" and "Tell Me" on most versions of the American release. Upon its release, ''The Rolling Stones'' reached No. 11 in the US, going gold in the process. To date, this is the Stones' only American studio album that has failed to place in the top five on the ''

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 advertis ...

'' album charts. In August 2002, the album, by now officially called ''England's Newest Hit Makers'', was reissued as a new remastered CD and SACD

Digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

by ABKCO.

Critical reception

The album was included in Robert Dimery's ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

'' (2010). Sean Egan of

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

wrote of the record in 2012: "It's a testament to the group's brilliance that the result was still the best album to emerge from the early 1960s British blues boom … the ensemble lovingly deliver some of their favourite shots of rhythm 'n' blues." It was voted number 418 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''.

Track listing

UK edition

US edition

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, except where noted: The Rolling Stones *

vocals, handclaps, tambourine; harmonica ,

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a Rattle (percussion instrument), rattle which appears in many genres of List of Caribbean music genres, Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a p ...

s *

backing vocals, lead and rhythm (6- and 12-string) guitars *

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 pro ...

backing vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar ;

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

; harmonica ; tambourine ; whistling *

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 ...

backing vocals, bass, handclaps *

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 ...

drums, handclaps *Unidentified musician (played by the Rolling Stones) tambourine Additional musicians * Allan Clarke backing vocals *

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

backing vocals *

piano *

percussion, maracas * Ian Stewart organ ; piano Production and additional personnel *

producer *Bill Farley

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...

*Nicholas Wright photography

Charts

Certifications

References

Sources

* *

External links

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