Black and Blue
Encyclopedia
Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by The Rolling Stones
, released in 1976. It was the band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor
. Wood had played twelve-string acoustic guitar on the track "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" from the It's Only Rock 'n Roll and appears on half of the Black and Blue album tracks (mostly backing vocals) with Wayne Perkins
and Harvey Mandel
playing guitar on the remaining titles. Keith Richards
would later comment "Rehearsing guitar players, that's what that one was about".
, with Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards (as The Glimmer Twins) producing again. With a view to releasing it in time for the summer 1975 Tour of the Americas
, the band broke for the holidays and returned in January in Rotterdam, Netherlands to continue working—all the while auditioning new guitarists as they recorded. Among the hopefuls were Steve Marriott
, Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, Peter Frampton
, and Ronnie Wood (although only Mandel, Perkins and Wood's guitar work would appear on the finished album). With much work to follow, it was decided to delay the album for the following year and release the Made in the Shade
compilation instead. "Cherry Oh Baby" (which was a cover version of Eric Donaldson
's 1971 reggae
song) would be the only song from the upcoming album sporadically played on the Tour of the Americas
.
Following the conclusion of the tour, The Rolling Stones went to Montreux, Switzerland in October for some overdub work, returning to Musicland Studios in Munich in December to perform similar work. After some final touch-ups, Black and Blue was completed in New York City in February 1976.
In February 1976 the Rolling Stones flew to Sanibel Island Beach on Sanibel Island
, Florida
to be photographed by famed fashion photographer Hiro
for the album cover art.
Stylistically, Black and Blue embraces funk
with "Hot Stuff"; reggae
with their cover of "Cherry Oh Baby"; and jazz
with "Melody", featuring the talents of Billy Preston
- a heavy contributor to the album. Musical and thematic styles were merged on the seven-minute "Memory Motel", with both Jagger and Richards contributing lead vocals to a love song embedded within a life-on-the-road tale.
Released in April 1976—with "Fool to Cry", a worldwide Top 10 hit, as its lead single—Black and Blue reached #2 in the UK and spent an interrupted four week spell at #1 in the US, going platinum there. Critical view was polarized: Lester Bangs
wrote in Creem
that "the heat's off, because it's all over, they really don't matter anymore or stand for anything" and "This is the first meaningless Rolling Stones album, and thank God"; but in the 1976 Creem Consumer Guide Robert Christgau
rated the album an A-.
While all the album's songs except "Cherry Oh Baby" were officially credited to Jagger/Richards as authors, the credit for "Hey Negrita" specifies "Inspiration by Ron Wood". and "Melody" lists "Inspiration by Billy Preston". Bill Wyman
would later release a version of "Melody" with his Rhythm Kings
, crediting Preston as author.
The album was promoted with a controversial billboard on Sunset Boulevard
in Hollywood that depicted the model Anita Russell, bruised and bound by Jagger under the phrase "I'm Black and Blue from the Rolling Stones — and I love it!" The billboard was removed after protests by the feminist
group Women Against Violence Against Women, although it earned the band widespread press coverage.
Two extra tracks recorded in the Rotterdam sessions were later released on 1981's Tattoo You
—"Slave
" and "Worried About You
".
In 1994, Black and Blue was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records
, and again in 2009 by Universal Music.
, except where noted.
Additional personnel
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, released in 1976. It was the band's first studio album released with Ronnie Wood as the replacement for Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
. Wood had played twelve-string acoustic guitar on the track "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" from the It's Only Rock 'n Roll and appears on half of the Black and Blue album tracks (mostly backing vocals) with Wayne Perkins
Wayne Perkins
Wayne Perkins is a rock and R & B guitarist, singer, songwriter and session musician. He was the oldest of six children, a brother and four sisters. Both of his parents sang and played guitar...
and Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
playing guitar on the remaining titles. Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
would later comment "Rehearsing guitar players, that's what that one was about".
History
In December 1974, The Rolling Stones returned to Munich, Germany—the recording site of their previous release It's Only Rock 'n' Roll—and began the recording of their new album at Musicland StudiosMusicland Studios
Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany. It was established by Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder in the late 1960s...
, with Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards (as The Glimmer Twins) producing again. With a view to releasing it in time for the summer 1975 Tour of the Americas
Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas '75
The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 was a 1975 concert tour originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South American never solidifed, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.-History:This was the Stones first...
, the band broke for the holidays and returned in January in Rotterdam, Netherlands to continue working—all the while auditioning new guitarists as they recorded. Among the hopefuls were Steve Marriott
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was an English musician, songwriter, and frontman of several notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades...
, Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
, and Ronnie Wood (although only Mandel, Perkins and Wood's guitar work would appear on the finished album). With much work to follow, it was decided to delay the album for the following year and release the Made in the Shade
Made in the Shade
Made in the Shade, released in 1975, is the first official compilation album by The Rolling Stones during their Atlantic Records contract. It draws entirely from their first four albums on that label.-Release history:...
compilation instead. "Cherry Oh Baby" (which was a cover version of Eric Donaldson
Eric Donaldson
Eric Donaldson is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter.-Biography:Donaldson has won the Jamaican Festival Song Competition six times, in 1971, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1993 and 1997. His winning 1971 entry, "Cherry Oh Baby", launched him into the limelight, although he had been composing and recording...
's 1971 reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
song) would be the only song from the upcoming album sporadically played on the Tour of the Americas
Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas '75
The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas '75 was a 1975 concert tour originally intended to reach both North and South America. The plans for concerts in Central and South American never solidifed, however, and the tour covered only the United States and Canada.-History:This was the Stones first...
.
Following the conclusion of the tour, The Rolling Stones went to Montreux, Switzerland in October for some overdub work, returning to Musicland Studios in Munich in December to perform similar work. After some final touch-ups, Black and Blue was completed in New York City in February 1976.
In February 1976 the Rolling Stones flew to Sanibel Island Beach on Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida, just offshore of Fort Myers. In 2000, it had an estimated population of 6,064 people...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to be photographed by famed fashion photographer Hiro
Hiro (photographer)
Yasuhiro Wakabayashi, professionally known as Hiro, is an American commercial photographer. He was born in Shanghai in 1930 to Japanese parents...
for the album cover art.
Stylistically, Black and Blue embraces funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
with "Hot Stuff"; reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
with their cover of "Cherry Oh Baby"; and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
with "Melody", featuring the talents of Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
- a heavy contributor to the album. Musical and thematic styles were merged on the seven-minute "Memory Motel", with both Jagger and Richards contributing lead vocals to a love song embedded within a life-on-the-road tale.
Released in April 1976—with "Fool to Cry", a worldwide Top 10 hit, as its lead single—Black and Blue reached #2 in the UK and spent an interrupted four week spell at #1 in the US, going platinum there. Critical view was polarized: Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
wrote in Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
that "the heat's off, because it's all over, they really don't matter anymore or stand for anything" and "This is the first meaningless Rolling Stones album, and thank God"; but in the 1976 Creem Consumer Guide Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
rated the album an A-.
While all the album's songs except "Cherry Oh Baby" were officially credited to Jagger/Richards as authors, the credit for "Hey Negrita" specifies "Inspiration by Ron Wood". and "Melody" lists "Inspiration by Billy Preston". Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman
Bill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
would later release a version of "Melody" with his Rhythm Kings
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings are a blues-rock band founded and led by former Rolling Stones bass guitarist Bill Wyman. Together with his lifelong musical partner Terry Taylor, The "Dirty Boys" duo produce, arrange and compose original material for the award winning band.The Rhythm Kings are known for...
, crediting Preston as author.
The album was promoted with a controversial billboard on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
in Hollywood that depicted the model Anita Russell, bruised and bound by Jagger under the phrase "I'm Black and Blue from the Rolling Stones — and I love it!" The billboard was removed after protests by the feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
group Women Against Violence Against Women, although it earned the band widespread press coverage.
Two extra tracks recorded in the Rotterdam sessions were later released on 1981's Tattoo You
Tattoo You
Tattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, it proved to be a big critical and commercial success...
—"Slave
Slave (song)
"Slave" is a song by The Rolling Stones on their 1981 album Tattoo You.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Slave" was originally written and recorded for 1975's Black and Blue. Initial recordings took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio...
" and "Worried About You
Worried About You
"Worried About You" is a song featured on the 1981 Rolling Stones album Tattoo You.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Worried About You" is slow ballad first produced for 1975's Black and Blue, an album well-known for its ballads...
".
In 1994, Black and Blue was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, and again in 2009 by Universal Music.
Track listing
All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith RichardsJagger/Richards
The songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, known as Jagger/Richards , is a musical collaboration whose output has produced the majority of the catalogue of The Rolling Stones....
, except where noted.
Personnel
The Rolling Stones- Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
– lead and backing vocals, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
on "Crazy Mama", electricElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
and acoustic pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on "Memory Motel" and "Fool to Cry" - Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Memory Motel", Fender Rhodes electric piano on "Memory Motel", bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on "Crazy Mama" - Ronnie Wood – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
on "Hey Negrita", guitar on "Cherry Oh Baby" and "Crazy Mama", backing vocals - Charlie WattsCharlie WattsCharles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion - Bill WymanBill WymanBill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
– bass guitar, percussion
Additional personnel
- Billy PrestonBilly PrestonWilliam Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
– piano, organ and harmony vocal on "Melody", piano and organ on "Hey Negrita", piano on "Hot Stuff", "Hand of Fate" and "Crazy Mama", string synthesizer on "Memory Motel", backing vocals - Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
– piano and ARP String EnsembleARP String EnsembleThe ARP String Ensemble, also known as the Solina String Ensemble, is a fully polyphonic multi-orchestral ARP Instruments, Inc. synthesizer with a 49-key keyboard, produced by Solina from 1974 to 1981. The sounds it incorporates are violin, viola, trumpet, horn, cello and contrabass. The keyboard...
on "Fool to Cry", organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
on "Cherry Oh Baby" - Harvey MandelHarvey MandelHarvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
– electric guitar on "Hot Stuff" and "Memory Motel" - Wayne PerkinsWayne PerkinsWayne Perkins is a rock and R & B guitarist, singer, songwriter and session musician. He was the oldest of six children, a brother and four sisters. Both of his parents sang and played guitar...
– acoustic and electric guitar on "Hand of Fate", "Memory Motel" and "Fool to Cry" - Ian StewartIan Stewart (musician)Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
– percussion - Ollie BrownOllie E. BrownOllie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist and record producer. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'.....
– percussion - Arif MardinArif MardinArif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
– hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
on "Melody"
- Engineers – Keith HarwoodKeith HarwoodKeith Harwood was a recording engineer, most notable for his work at Olympic Studios with such musicians as David Bowie: , the Pretty Things and Ron Wood. Harwood collaborated on engineering the Rolling Stones albums It's Only Rock 'n' Roll and Black and Blue with brothers Andy and Glyn Johns,...
, Glyn JohnsGlyn JohnsGlyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
and Phil McDonaldPhil McDonaldPhilip McDonald is an English recording studio audio engineer, best known as the engineer for EMI and later for Apple during The Beatles studio years alongside with Neil Aspinall, Geoff Emerick, Mal Evans, and others. In Apple, McDonald joined as senior balance engineer. He was just 25...
, Lew Hahn (Edit) - Lee Hulko - LP mastering at Sterling Sound (original 1976)
- Robert Ludwig - CD mastering at Gateway Mastering Studios (1994 Virgin issue)
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | UK Top 60 Albums | 2 |
| 1976 | Billboard 200 | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "Fool to Cry" | UK Top 50 Singles | 6 |
| 1976 | "Fool to Cry" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| 1976 | "Hot Stuff" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 49 |
| 1976 | "Hot Stuff" | Black Singles | 84 |
| 1976 | "Hot Stuff" | Club Play Singles | 11 |
Certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
| France | SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Gold |
| United Kingdom | BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Gold |