"All Down the Line" is a song by the Englishrock bandthe Rolling Stones, which is included on their 1972 albumExile on Main St.. Although at one point slated to be the lead single from the album,[1] it was ultimately released as a single as the B-side of "Happy".
| "All Down the Line" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Rolling Stones | ||||
| from the albumExile on Main St. | ||||
| A-side | "Happy" | |||
| Released | 15 July 1972 (1972-07-15) | |||
| Recorded | December 1971 – March 1972 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Rolling Stones Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jagger–Richards | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller | |||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||
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Background
editWritten byMick Jagger andKeith Richards, "All Down the Line" is a straight-ahead electric rock song which opens side four ofExile on Main St.. An acoustic version of the song was recorded in 1969 during the early sessions of what would becomeSticky Fingers.[2] Recording took place atNellcôte,Keith Richards's rented villa in France, and atSunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles.
The Rolling Stones gave a Los Angeles radio station a demo of "All Down the Line" to play while they drove around and listened to it on the radio.[3][1]
Record World called the song "the Stones at their best."[4]
After the release ofExile on Main St.,Allen Klein sued the Rolling Stones for breach of settlement because "All Down the Line" and four other songs on the album were composed while Jagger and Richards were under contract with his company,ABKCO. ABKCO acquired publishing rights to the songs, giving it a share of the royalties fromExile on Main St., and was able to publish another album of previously released Rolling Stones songs,More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies).[5]
Personnel
editThe Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger – lead vocals
- Keith Richards – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Mick Taylor –slide guitar
- Charlie Watts – drums
Additional Performers
- Nicky Hopkins – piano
- Bobby Keys – saxophone
- Jim Price – trumpet, trombone
- Kathi McDonald – backing vocals
- Bill Plummer – standup bass
- Jimmy Miller – maracas
Concert performances
editThe Rolling Stones performed "All Down the Line" on every tour from 1972 to 1981 and have included the song on every tour since theVoodoo Lounge Tour (1994–95).
Live performances from June 1972 and November 1981 were included in the concert filmsLadies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones[6] andLet's Spend the Night Together, respectively. A live version of the song from May 1995 appeared as a B-side of the "Like a Rolling Stone" (Live) single promoting theStripped album. A 2006 performance was captured on the concert filmShine a Light and the accompanyingsoundtrack album. Despite the popularity of "All Down the Line" as a live song, this was its first appearance on an official live album. A March 2016 performance was included as a bonus track onHavana Moon, although it did not appear in the film of that name.
References
edit- ^ab"100 Greatest Rolling Stones Songs".Rolling Stone. 15 October 2013. Retrieved22 November 2014.
- ^Hector, J. (1995).The Complete Guide to the Music of the Rolling Stones. Omnibus Press. p. 86.ISBN 0711943036.
- ^Appleford, S. (2000).Rip This Joint. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 123–124.ISBN 1560252812.
- ^"Hits of the Week"(PDF).Record World. 8 July 1972. p. 1. Retrieved30 March 2023.
- ^Goodman, Fred (2015).Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 235–236.ISBN 978-0-547-89686-1.
- ^"Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones".AllMusic. Retrieved22 November 2014.