"Ruby Tuesday" is a song recorded by

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 ...

in 1966, released in January 1967. The song became the band's fourth number-one hit in the United States and reached number three in the United Kingdom as a

double 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 ...

with " Let's Spend the Night Together". The song was included in the American version of '' Between the Buttons'' (in the UK, singles were often excluded from studio albums). ''

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. It was first known for its co ...

'' magazine ranked the song number 310 on their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Composition and recording

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 ...

recorded "Ruby Tuesday" around November 1966 at

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 Hend ...

, during the sessions for their album '' Between the Buttons''. The song was produced by

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 ...

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 ...

plays a countermelody on an alto recorder, while the

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

was played jointly by bassist

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 membe ...

and guitarist

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 ...

; Wyman did the fingerings while Richards bowed the instrument. Richards explained that the lyrics are about Linda Keith, his girlfriend in the mid-1960s: "That's a wonderful song,"

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 ...

told

Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American magazine magnate who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine '' Rolling Stone'', and former owner of ''Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement whil ...

in 1995. "It's just a nice melody, really. And a lovely lyric. Neither of which I wrote, but I always enjoy singing it." Wyman states in ''Rolling with the Stones'' that the lyrics were completely written by Richards with help from Jones on the musical composition. However,

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

recalls it differently; according to her, Jones presented an early version of this melody to the rest of the Rolling Stones. According to Victor Bockris, Richards came up with the basic track and the words and finished the song with Jones in the studio. '' Cash Box'' described the single as a "smooth ballad a la baroque."

Release

"Ruby Tuesday" was released as the B-side to "Let's Spend the Night Together" in January 1967. Due to the controversial nature of the A-side's lyrics, "Ruby Tuesday" earned more airplay and ended up charting higher in the US. The song topped the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, while reaching number three in the UK's

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The titl ...

chart, which listed "Let's Spend The Night Together"/"Ruby Tuesday" as a

. "Ruby Tuesday" was included on the US version of the 1967 album '' Between the Buttons'', while being left out of the British edition, as was common practice with singles in the UK at that time. That summer, the song appeared on the US compilation album ''

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

''. Due to its success, the song became a staple of the band's compilations, being included on '' Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)'' (1969), '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971'' (1971), ''

Rolled Gold Gold-filled jewelry is jewelry composed of a solid layer of gold (typically constituting at least 5% of the item's total weight) mechanically bonded to a base of either sterling silver or some base metal. The related terms "rolled gold plate" an ...

'' (1975), and ''30 Greatest Hits'' (1977), and, in mono, on '' Singles Collection: The London Years'' (1989).

Personnel

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

vocals, tambourine *

acoustic guitar,

( bowing) *

alto recorder, backing vocals, piano *

double bass ( fingering), bass guitar *

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 ...

drums Additional musician *

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

piano

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Live version

"Ruby Tuesday" was first played live on Brian Jones' last concert tour The Rolling Stones European Tour 1967. The next time was on the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour in 1989/1990. A concert rendition from this tour was featured on the band's 1991 live album '' Flashpoint'' and released as a single. This live version was recorded in Japan in 1990 and can be seen on the video release '' Live at the Tokyo Dome''. The B-side was " Play with Fire (live)" recorded in 1989 but not included on the ''Flashpoint'' album. A July 2013 live performance is featured on ''Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live''.

Melanie version

American folk and pop singer

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Candles in the Rain''. Her version was released as a single in the UK, where it became a Top Ten hit that year. It also reached number seven in New Zealand. She recorded a second cover version for her 1978 album '' Ballroom Streets''.

Other cover versions

*1968: Rotary Connection released a cover of the song on their debut album '' Rotary Connection''. *1969: Oliver released a version of the song on his album '' Good Morning Starshine''. *1989:

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian ...

released a version of the song on the compilation album entitled '' The Wonder Years: Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show & Its Era'', a soundtrack for ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Supe ...

'' TV series. *1993:

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

recorded a version for his 1993 compilation album, '' Lead Vocalist'', and released it as a single through Warner Bros. Records on 8 February 1993. His cover reached number 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Across the rest of Europe, the song entered the top 40 in Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Restaurant chain

Samuel E. Beall III used the title of the song when he started his restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday. The name was suggested by one of several fraternity brothers who were co-investors.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby Tuesday 1960s ballads 1967 singles Baroque pop songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Andrew Loog Oldham The Rolling Stones songs Buddah Records singles Decca Records singles London Records singles Oliver (singer) songs Melanie (singer) songs Scorpions (band) songs Julian Lennon songs Rod Stewart songs Marianne Faithfull songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany 1967 songs Pop ballads Soul ballads Psychedelic soul songs British soul songs