October 6, 1963
The Paul McCartney–John Lennon written song I Wanna Be Your Man was recorded by The Rolling Stones on this date.
The recording came on the heels of their first British single Come On, a Chuck Berry cover, b/w I Want To Be Loved, which was released in July of 1963 (Decca F.11675).
Backed with the B-side instrumental called Stoned, the single ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was released on November 1, 1963 (Decca F.11764) and topped out at #12 on the UK charts in early 1964.
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Penned at the De Lane Lea Studios in London – and primarily written by McCartney; he and Lennon finished the song while Mick Jagger and Keith Richard chatted in another room (“Richard” was Keith’s professional surname name – which omitted the “s”- until 1978).
In 1968, Mick Jagger said about IWBYM:
“We knew (The Beatles) by then and we were rehearsing and Andrew (Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham) brought Paul and John down to the rehearsal. They said they had this tune, they were really hustlers then. I mean the way they used to hustle tunes was great: ‘Hey Mick, we’ve got this great song.’ So they played it and we thought it sounded pretty commercial, which is what we were looking for, so we did it like Elmore James or something. I haven’t heard it for ages but it must be pretty freaky ’cause nobody really produced it. It was completely crackers, but it was a hit and sounded great onstage.”
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[Note] Some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets or connected devices. A laptop, desktop PC or Mac may be required for optimal enjoyment.
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I WANNA BE YOUR MAN
The Rolling Stones
[1963]
As noted, long-time Stones producer (1963-1967) Andrew Loog Oldham helped work on this one. Like famed American “Wall Of Sound” producer Phil Spector – at least in the eccentric sense – Oldham enjoyed his reputation as a loquacious, pansexual thug, who wore makeup and sunglasses, and was known to have his bodyguard threaten rivals. Oldham was also largely responsible for perpetuating the Stones “bad boys” image.
Featuring Stone Brian Jones on slide guitar, this version is quite raucous compared to the version later recorded by The Beatles.
https://youtu.be/PJKJS_kJols
It’s been said that Mick and Keith were so impressed with the songwriting abilities of Paul and John that it inspired them to begin writing more songs together.
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Of significance is that it’s the only Lennon-McCartney written song and then commercially recorded by The Beatles after being both recorded and released first by another artist or artists (their recording of IWBYM actually began September 3rd of ’63, but the final version wasn’t completed until October 23rd – 2 1/2 weeks after the Stones’ version).
[Note] In another anomalous scenario, Del Shannon’s cover version of the Beatles From Me To You – although initially recorded by the Fab Four – became the first McCartney-Lennon composition to place on the Billboard Hot 100 (June 1963 • #77).
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I WANNA BE YOUR MAN
The Beatles
[1963]
The Beatles version of ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was released in the UK on November 22, 1963, as part of their second album With The Beatles.
https://youtu.be/cfrvAraa49o
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DEEP TRAK!
NOT FADE AWAY
The Rolling Stones
[1964]
‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ by the Stones became the B-side of their first North American single Not Fade Away (the Buddy Holly cover) after its release in early 1964 (the Canadian version is pictured below). NFA debuted on Billboard in May of ’64 and peaked at #48 in the U.S.
https://youtu.be/Q8kYc21aCxU
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DEEP(er) TRAX!
STONED
The Rolling Stones
(B-side of I Wanna Be Your Man)
[1963]
The B-side of ‘ I Wanna Be Your Man’ was an instrumental by the Stones called Stoned, written by Nanker Phelge. In fact, that name was a pseudonym under which the entire band wrote material from 1963-1965 (in this case, the lone writer was “Sixth Stone” keyboardist Ian Stewart, who also plays on the song).
[Note] Evidently “Nanker” was a wacky face they would make to amuse each other, and “Phelge” was a one-time roommate of Richards, who Keith considered to be a “most disgusting person.”
Notice the incorrect spelling of the title of the song – “Stones” – on the label of the promo copy (below/left).
https://youtu.be/odcvuVYb_vY
[Note] ‘Stoned’ was one of three instrumentals – all written by “Nanker Phelge” – that would be recorded by the Stones in their earliest days. The second, Now I’ve Got A Witness (Like Uncle Phil And Uncle Gene), was an instrumental which made it first appearance on their debut 1964 UK album The Rolling Stones. (Producer “Uncle” Phil Spector and American vocalist “Uncle” Gene Pitney both contributed to session recordings for the album).
[Note] The third instrumental, titled 2120 South Michigan Avenue, was also released in 1964 on both their second UK ‘Extended Play’ disc called Five X Five, and their second U.S. album, 12 X 5 (2120 South Michigan Avenue was the address of the Chess Records and Checker Records recording studios in downtown Chicago where both the ‘5 X 5′ EP and ’12 X 5’ LP were recorded).
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I WANNA BE YOUR MAN
(Alternate Take)
The Beatles
[1963]
Here’s a great alternate STEREO version of the Beatles version of IWBYM from their Anthology 1 CD series.
https://youtu.be/JgnAEN9Mkp0
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Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
