The Rolling Stones...A Blues Cover Band?? Quiz

Answer: Lady Jane

'Baroque Pop' was a genre popular in the 1960, where artists incorporated classical instruments and motifs into their songs. Among them are standouts like Left Banke's 'Walk Away Renee', the Beatles' 'In My Life' and Procol Harum's 'Whiter Shade of Pale'. 'Lady Jane' (Jagger/Richards) first appeared on the Stone's album 'Aftermath', and was on the flip side of 'Mother's Little Helper'. Peaking at number 24 on Billboard Hot 100, that single was one of the few where both songs made the charts.

Brian Jones played dulcimer and as Keith Richards explained, "Brian was getting into dulcimer then because he dug Richard Farina. We were also listening to a lot of Appalachian music then too. To me, Lady Jane is very Elizabethan." Suggestions as to who or what 'Lady Jane' referred to include drugs, lady bits, Queen Jane Seymour and Mick Jagger's girlfriend at the time. Mick himself stated that he didn't really know, that the song was 'weird'.

Answer: (A Girl with) Faraway Eyes

It's no wonder that Brad Paisley considered the Stones "in the top 5 in country bands". Over the course of their career they've recorded many songs influenced by the country sound and are avowed country fans. 'Faraway Eyes' (Jagger/ Richards) is off their 1978 album 'Some Girls'. Ron Wood is on pedal steel guitar and Keith Richards is on piano, as well as both acoustic and electric guitar. Mick Jagger provides the voiceover with the southern accent. He said that it was a song about "driving and listening to the radio", but another source states that the girl in question was one of Barry Gordy's assistants. She was slightly cross-eyed and at one point Mick was a bit sweet on her.

In 1996, a collection of country artists released 'Stone Country: Country Artists Perform the Songs of the Rolling Stones'.

Answer: Sympathy for the Devil

'Sympathy for the Devil' is off the Stones' 1968 album 'Beggars Banquet'. It caused no end of furor at the time, as it was 'proof' that the Stones were Satanists. This puzzled them as Keith Richards points out, "It was just one song." And no, they were not playing it at Altamont when the man was killed. The song is credited to Jagger and Richards, but Mick wrote most of it, having been inspired by Bulgakov's 'Master and Margarita'.

Although it started out slow and dreamy, the pace picked up. Jagger explained. "It has a very hypnotic groove, a samba, which has a tremendous hypnotic power, rather like good dance music. It doesn't speed up or slow down. It keeps this constant groove... If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn't have been as good." Percussion rules in 'Sympathy', and besides Charlie Watts on drums there are maracas, shekere, congas and a cow bell. Backing vocals are supplied by Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg and Jimmy Miller.

Answer: Paint it Black

'Paint it Black' was off the 1966 album 'Aftermath' and the Eastern flavour of the song and Brian Jones' use of the sitar led to accusations of the Stones' ripping off the Beatles. This is certainly not the case, however Jones did spend time with George Harrison, exploring the possibilities of the instrument. Although Jagger and Richards get the credits for the song, it was definitely a group effort.

According to Mick Jagger, the song is about someone mourning a dead lover, but many interpreted it as an anti-war song and Vietnam vets pointed out that it voiced what many of them felt. Due to the overwhelming affect that the war had on music, this is understandable. You can hear this song in 'Full Metal Jacket' (1987) and 'Tour of Duty' (1987-1990).

Answer: You Can't Always Get What You Want

Bernie Taupin, Elton John's long-time lyricist, once said that when in doubt, you write an anthem. The Stones certainly did this in their 1969 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', off 'Let it Bleed'. Mick Jagger said that it started out as a 'bedroom song' and eventually it evolved into an orchestral hymn that many likened to the Beatles' 'Hey Jude'.

In particular, the song led John Lennon to observe that the Stones tended to copy the Beatles' work. Initially they wanted a gospel chorus, but ended up with the big sound of the London Bach Choir. Charlie Watts isn't on drums here; he didn't really get the groove for this one, so Jimmy Miller replaced him. Al Kooper is on French horn, organ and piano and backup vocals are supplied by Nanette Workman, Madeline Bell and Doris Troy.

Answer: Start Me Up

'Start Me Up' is a Stones' 1981 megahit. It became a sports staple (the Stones played it at the 2006 Superbowl), Charlie and Mick argued that a making a video of the song for the new MTV was "the future", Microsoft paid $3 million to use it for Windows 95, 'The Flintstones' used it and it appeared in a Ford commercial in 2006.

While searching the vaults for stuff for their 1981 tour, the band found something they'd forgotten about; a song they'd recorded in 1977 but had ditched. Keith explained, "...['Never Stop'] was pretty locked into a reggae rhythm for quite a few weeks. We were cutting it for Emotional Rescue (sic), but it was nowhere near coming through, and we put it aside and almost forgot about it. Then, when we went back in the can to get material for Tattoo You, we stumbled on a non-reggae version we'd cut back then and realized that was what we wanted all along."

Answer: Around and Around

When Chuck Berry died in 2017, the Stones released a statement saying in part "Chuck Berry's music is engraved inside us forever" and Keith Richards described hearing the news as "a gut punch". These were among the horde of tributes coming from musicians like Paul McCartney, Eric Burdon and Eric Clapton. Berry's music helped to create the sound of the British Invasion.

Berry recorded 'Around and Around' in 1958 and the Stones covered it on their first album in 1964 (along with 'Carol'). Their very first single, 'Come On', was recorded in 1963. Fun fact: The Swingin' Blue Jeans covered 'Around and Around' on their first album in '64 too!

All of the clues here are Berry songs covered by the Stones.

Answer: Miss You

It wasn't quite at the level of Dylan's going electric, but when the Stones released a pink vinyl EP single of a disco song in 1977, a lot of fans went nuts. As one put it, "We were not supposed to like disco, us rock and rollers. In fact, we were programmed to violently hate it." 'Miss You' (Jagger/Richards) would come out on the album 'Some Girls' in 1978.

Despite fan disgust, a lot of people loved the song and it hit the top of the charts. As one critic would observe, "It made it safe for rockers to record disco." The New York Times speculated that Mick wanted a disco song so it would be played in the discos that his estranged wife Bianca frequented.

Answer: She's Like a Rainbow

'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts' Club Band' came out in April, 1967 and 'Their Satanic Majesties Request' came out in December of that year. The critics hailed the Beatles' album as a masterpiece, while the Stones were considered to have produced a drug-induced, psychedelic mess. Despite the controversy the album went gold and though fifty years later it's generally considered "underrated", the critics are still scratching their heads.

'She's a Rainbow', however, became an enduring hit. Keith's on acoustic guitar here, Brian played the mellotron (introduced in 1963), John Paul Jones arranged the strings and Nicky Hopkins played piano and celesta. Probably because it's so catchy and talks about colours a lot, it keeps showing up in commercials. In 1999 Apple used it to introduce their iMac computers and it hit the charts again in 2018, when Acura and Dior both featured it in ads.

Answer: Little Red Rooster

In 1962 the American Folk and Blues Festival hit Manchester, England, featuring performers like Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf. It lit a fire under a whole generation of British musicians, and Brian Jones in particular. Calling himself 'Elmo Lewis', he started playing blues that same year. He was very likely the first British musician to play steel guitar.

When the Stones recorded 'Little Red Rooster' in 1964, their manager hated this Willie Dixon song and didn't want the band to release it as a single because it was 'undanceable'. As Keith explains, "We must have been wearing brass balls that day, when we decided to put that out as a single. I think we just thought it was our job to pay back, to give them what they've given us". They released it and it went to number one. It took guts to do this, as Howlin' Wolf had released the song only two years before, but he liked the Stones' version and the band maintained a friendship with him for many years.

The 1964 recording includes Brian Jones on steel guitar and harp, Keith Richard on acoustic guitar, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. There is a video clip of the band performing it live on television in 1964 ('Ready, Steady, Go'?) that is well worth watching. It's clear that they were not merely a 'blues cover band', but the blues were certainly deep in their souls.