| "I Wanna Be Your Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of the 1963 Danish single covers | ||||
| Single bythe Rolling Stones | ||||
| A-side | "Not Fade Away" (US 2nd release) | |||
| B-side | "Stoned" (UK) & (US 1st release) | |||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | 7 October 1963 | |||
| Studio | De Lane Lea Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:43 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Rolling Stones UK singles chronology | ||||
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| Rolling Stones US singles chronology | ||||
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"I Wanna Be Your Man" is aLennon–McCartney-penned song first recorded and released as a single bythe Rolling Stones, and then recorded bythe Beatles for their second studio albumWith the Beatles. The song was primarily written byPaul McCartney, and finished by McCartney withJohn Lennon in the corner of aRichmond, London, club whileMick Jagger andKeith Richards were talking.[1]
Released as their second single on 1 November 1963, the Stones's version was the group's first UK top-20 hit,[2] peaking at number 12 on the British chart. Their rendition featuresBrian Jones's distinctiveslide guitar andBill Wyman's driving bass playing. It is one of the few Rolling Stones songs to feature only Brian Jones on backing vocals. In the US, the song was initially released as London 45-LON 9641 (with "Stoned" on the B-side)[3] without any success and was soon after re-released on 6 March 1964 as the B-side to "Not Fade Away".
According to various accounts, eitherAndrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones' manager/producer, or the Rolling Stones themselves ran into Lennon and McCartney on the street as the two were returning from an awards luncheon. Hearing that the group were in need of material for a single, Lennon and McCartney went to their session atDe Lane Lea Studio and finished off the song – whose verse they had already been working on – in the corner of the room while the impressed Rolling Stones watched.
McCartney stated in 2016:[4]
We were friends with them, and I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Man" would be good for them. I knew they didBo Diddley stuff. And they made a good job of it.
Bill Wyman noted how the Rolling Stones adapted the song to their style:
We kind of learned it pretty quickly 'cause there wasn't that much to learn. Then Brian got his slide out, his steel (guitar) out and dadaw ... dadaw ... and we said, 'Yeah, that's better, dirty it up a bit and bash it out', and we kind of completely turned the song around and made it much more tough, Stones- and Elmore James-like.
Released only as a single, the Rolling Stones' rendition did not appear on a studio album. The song was reissued in the UK on the Decca compilation albumsMilestones (1972) andRolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (1975). In 1989, it was issued on the US compilation albumSingles Collection: The London Years. It is included on the four-CD version of the 2012GRRR! compilation.
The B-side of the second single was "Stoned", a "Green Onions"–influenced instrumental composed byNanker/Phelge, the early collective pseudonym for the group. Additionally, it included the "Sixth Stone" pianistIan Stewart, making it the first released self-penned composition, with added spoken asides by Mick Jagger. Some original 1963 copies were issued with the misprinted title as "Stones", making it doubly collectable as a rarity.
On 1 January 1964, the Stones' "I Wanna Be Your Man" was performed on the first episode of the BBC'sTop of the Pops, making them the first band to appear on the show.[5] A performance of the song onThe Arthur Haynes Show recorded on 7 February 1964 appears in the 1995 docu-seriesThe Beatles Anthology and as part of the bonus material on the 2012 documentary filmCrossfire Hurricane.
| "I Wanna Be Your Man" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the song's sheet music | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| from the albumWith the Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1963 |
| Recorded | 11–12, 30 September & 3, 23 October 1963 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 1:58 |
| Label |
|
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer | George Martin |
The Beatles' version was sung byRingo Starr and appeared on the group's second UK album,With the Beatles, released 22 November 1963 and on the US releaseMeet the Beatles!, released on 20 January 1964.[7] It was driven by a heavilytremoloed, open E-chord on a guitar played through aVox AC30 amplifier. John Lennon was dismissive of the song in 1980, saying:[8]
It was a throwaway. The only two versions of the song were Ringo and the Rolling Stones. That shows how much importance we put on it: We weren't going to give them anything great, right?
The Beatles also recorded two versions of the song for the BBC.[9] One version was for theSaturday Club, recorded on 7 January 1964 and first broadcast on 15 February. The second version was for theFrom Us to You show, recorded on 28 February and broadcast on 30 March; this was released decades later on theLive at the BBC collection. The Beatles also recorded a version for theAround The Beatles TV show, recorded on 19 April 1964; this version was released on theAnthology 1 collection in 1995.
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band have performed the song as a concert staple during their 1989 through 2012–13 All-Starr Band concerts. The song was on the setlist for the first line-up in 1989. The 1992 line-up did not perform the song. Every All-Starr Band line-up from 1995 to 2012–13 has included the song on their setlist. The song has appeared on the following compilation albums:Ringo Starr and His Third All-Starr Band Volume 1,King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Ringo & His New All-Starr Band,The Anthology... So Far,Ringo Starr and Friends,Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage,Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live 2006, andLive at the Greek Theatre 2008.
McCartney performed the song occasionally, notably on the soundcheck of his 1993 live albumPaul Is Live.
McCartney performed the song in his 2022 Glastonbury Festival set with special guestBruce Springsteen.
Keith Richards performed the song live with his group, theX-Pensive Winos, during their 1988 Talk is Cheap tour of the US. They performed the song at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and at theHollywood Palladium.[10]
The song was parodied in 1964 by theBarron Knights on their hit single "Call Up the Groups (Medley)" (Columbia DB.7317), in which they imitated the Rolling Stones' version. It was also recorded byAdam Faith in 1965,Count Basie and his Orchestra in 1966, the Day Brothers,Terry Manning in 1970,Suzi Quatro in 1973,the Rezillos in 1977, Roger Webb and his Trio, the Sparrows, the Merseyboys, Bob Leaper,the Flamin' Groovies in 1993,Sam Phillips in 2003,Audience in 2005, Les Baronets in French as "Oh! Je Veux Être À Toi",the Rockin' Ramrods,the Smithereens in 2007, andthe Stooges on their 2007 albumThe Weirdness featuringIggy Pop.
Bob Dylan recorded a song forBlonde on Blonde (1966) called "I Wanna Be Your Lover" as a "tip of the hat" to the Lennon/McCartney song. It was left off the final album but was eventually released on the compilation boxed setBiograph (1985).[11]I Wanna Be Your Lover shares the lyric:[12][13]
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man.
This refrain is also used in the 1977the Saints songErotic Neurotic.[14]
The song contains a heavyBo Diddley beat. This was acknowledged byBo Diddley himself in the song "London Stomp" from the albumHey! Good Lookin'. He sings "Hey, Liverpool, we got the London Stomp" over an "I Wanna Be Your Man" background.
Rolling Stones version[edit]According to authorsAndy Babiuk and Greg Prevost:[15]
| Beatles version[edit]According to authorIan MacDonald:[16] The Beatles
Additional musician
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