This evening I’m sitting in (on drums) with some friends in a band playing a Halloween-themed house party. The band is kind of an outlaw/trad country thing, but they’re throwing in some “black” songs to fit the Halloween vibe. One of the songs they’re playing is the one I’ve chosen for today’s classic song of the day, the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.”
“Paint It Black” was written by Keith Richards (music) and Mick Jagger (words). They started writing the tune in December of 1965 during the initial recording sessions for the album that would become 1966’s Aftermath, then finished it up during their 1966 Australian tour. They recorded the tune during sessions on March 6th and 9th at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, with Andrew Loog Oldham producing and engineer Dave Hassinger behind the board. The recording features Bill Wyman’s fretless bass and a cool little sitar part by Brian Jones, as well as that Bolero-like section near the end, driven by Charlie Watts’ superb drumming. (It was the addition of the sitar and its unique sound and tuning that inspired the song’s vaguely Middle Eastern melody.) Jack Nitzsche joined in to contribute the piano part.
I’ll be playing Charlie’s part, or as close to it as I can, on my trusty Fibes drums sometime this evening. It’s a fun song to play, one of the Stones’ best.
Decca Records released “Paint It Black” in the UK in March of 1966, with London’s U.S. release shortly after. The single went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 in the U.S., and topped all the UK charts. It was also a number-one hit in Canada, Israel, Malaysia, and the Netherlands, and placed in the top five in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and West Germany.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, a real treat. It’s Mick and the Stones performing “Paint It Black” live on the October 7, 1966, episode of the British television series, Ready, Steady, Go! That’s how you do it.
