"Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

, and originally released by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

as a double A-sided single together with " Ruby Tuesday" in January 1967. It also appears as the opening track on the American version of their album ''

Between the Buttons Between is a preposition. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Between (Frankmusik album), ''Between'' (Frankmusik album), a 2013 album by Frankmusik * "Between", a song by Jerry Cantrell from ''Boggy Depot'' * Between (TV series), ''Bet ...

''. The song has been covered by various artists, including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

in 1973.

Recording

The song was recorded in December 1966 at the RCA Studios in Hollywood, California, where the group recorded most of their 1965–1966 hits. Recording engineer

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English recording engineer and record producer. He has worked with many of the most famous rock recording acts from both the UK and abroad, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, ...

recounts that while mixing "Let's Spend the Night Together", Andrew Loog Oldham was trying to get a certain sound by clicking his fingers. Two policemen showed up, stating that the front door was open and that they were checking to see if everything was all right. At first, Oldham asked them to hold his earphones while he snapped his fingers but then Johns said they needed a more wooden sound. The policemen suggested their truncheons and Oldham took the truncheons into the studio to record the claves-like sound that can be heard during the quiet break at one minute 40 seconds into the song.

Original release

Released in the United Kingdom as a single on 13 January 1967, "Let's Spend the Night Together" reached number three on the UK Singles Chart as a

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

with " Ruby Tuesday". In the United States, the single was released in January and became the opening track of the American edition of the Stones' album ''

''. Both songs entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on 21 January. However, by 4 March, "Ruby Tuesday" reached number one, while "Let's Spend the Night Together" stalled at number 55. Due to the sexually charged nature of the lyrics, "Let's Spend the Night Together" received less airplay in the US. In the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' chart, which was based on sales only, the song reached number 28. In other countries worldwide, both sides of the single charted separately. In Ireland for example, "Ruby Tuesday" peaked at number six, while "Let's Spend The Night Together" charted separately at number 14, as Ireland's national broadcaster,

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, considered "Ruby Tuesday" to be more suitable for radio airplay. The song features piano by Rolling Stones contributor

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, a ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

, drums by

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

, piano, electric guitar and bass by Richards, lead vocals by Jagger and backing vocals from both Jagger and Richards. Usual bassist

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

does not appear on the recording. ''

'' said the single is a "strong, thumping, rock venture marked by groovey harmonies". On their ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' appearance of 15 January 1967, the band was initially refused permission to perform the number. Sullivan himself even told Jagger, "Either the song goes or you go". A compromise was reached to substitute the words "let's spend ''some time'' together" in place of "let's spend ''the night'' together"; Jagger agreed to change the lyrics but ostentatiously rolled his eyes at the TV camera while singing them, as did bassist Bill Wyman and pianist Brian Jones. As a result of this incident, Sullivan announced that the Rolling Stones would be banned from performing on his show again. However, the Stones did appear on the show again and performed three songs on 23 November 1969. In April 2006, for their first-ever performance in China, authorities prohibited the group from performing the song due to its "suggestive lyrics".

Charts

Sales

Other releases

"Let's Spend the Night Together" was released on the US edition of the Stones' 1967 studio album ''

'' and on the following compilation albums: * ''

Flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

'' (1967) * '' Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)'' (1969) * '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971'' (1971) * '' Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones'' (1975) * ''30 Greatest Hits'' (1977) * '' Singles Collection: The London Years'' (1989) * '' Forty Licks'' (2002) * '' Singles 1965–1967'' (2004) * '' GRRR!'' (2012) *A live version appears on ''

Still Life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

'' (1982).

Personnel

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

vocals *

rhythm guitar, bass, piano, backing vocals *

drums Additional personnel and production *

piano * Andrew Loog Oldham producer, truncheons *

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

Eddie Kramer Edwin H. Kramer (born 19 April 1942) is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, L ...

assistant sound engineer

David Bowie version

recorded a

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

version of "Let's Spend the Night Together" for his '' Aladdin Sane'' album, released in April 1973. It was also issued as a single by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in the US, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand and Europe including the Netherlands, Italy, France, Greece and Sweden. It was a

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

hit, peaking at number 19. The song also peaked at number 21 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

. Bowie's rendition featured pulsating synthesiser effects. The singer added his own words as part of the finale: Author

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer. Education Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of ...

describes the recording as "faster and raunchier" than the Stones' performance with "a fresh, futuristic sheen",

(2000). ''The Complete David Bowie'': pp.124-125 while ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' editors

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Black ...

and

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...

considered Bowie to have performed "the unprecedented feat of beating the Stones on one of their own songs", remarking on the track's " polymorphous perversity" and "furious, coked-up drive". However, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s contemporary review found the Bowie version "campy, butch, brittle and unsatisfying". In addition to its appearance on ''Aladdin Sane'', Bowie's version of "Let's Spend the Night Together" was included on the following compilations: * ''The Best of David Bowie'' (Japan 1974) * '' The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974'' (1997) * A live version recorded by Bowie at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

, London, on 3 July 1973 appears on the album '' Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture'' (1983).

Personnel

According to biographer Chris O'Leary: *

– lead vocal, ARP synthesiser *

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

– lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocal *

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, ...

– bass *

Mick Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock music, rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjuncti ...

– drums * Mike Garson – piano Production *David Bowie – producer * Ken Scott – producer, engineer

Other versions

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

recorded a version of the song in 1968. Claudine Longet recorded a more sensual version with bongos for her 1972 album ''Let's Spend the Night Together''.

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

recorded a Folk Rock version for his 1974 album ''Compliments''

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Let's Spend The Night Together 1967 singles 1967 songs 1973 singles David Bowie songs Decca Records singles Double A-side singles London Records singles RCA Records singles Number-one singles in Germany Song recordings produced by Andrew Loog Oldham Song recordings produced by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Songs about casual sex Songs written by Jagger–Richards The Rolling Stones songs Obscenity controversies in music Works subject to expurgation

Recording

Original release

Charts

Sales

Other releases

Personnel

David Bowie version

Personnel

Other versions

See also

References

Sources