Honky Tonk Women
Encyclopedia
"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones
. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.
and Keith Richards
while on holiday in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969. Inspired by Brazilian gaucho
s at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying in Matão
, São Paulo
, the song was originally released as an acoustic country song.
Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
; and a honky-tonk version entitled "Country Honk" with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let It Bleed
. The concert rendition of the song featured on Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
differs from both the hit version and the country version, with a markedly different guitar introduction and an entirely different second verse, but is much closer to the single version than the album version.
Thematically, a "honky tonk woman" refers to a dancing girl in a western bar
who may work as a prostitute; the setting for the narrative in the first verse of the blues
version is Memphis
, while "Country Honk" sets the first verse in Jackson
.
The band initially recorded the track called "Country Honk", in London in early February 1969. The song was transformed into the familiar electric, riff-based hit single "Honky Tonk Women" sometime in the spring of 1969, prior to Mick Taylor
's joining the group. In an interview in the magazine Crawdaddy, Richards credits Taylor for influencing the track: "... the song was originally written as a real Hank Williams/Jimmie Rodgers/1930s country song. And it got turned around to this other thing by Mick Taylor, who got into a completely different feel, throwing it off the wall another way." However, in 1979 Taylor recalled it this way: "I definitely added something to Honky Tonk Women, but it was more or less complete by the time I arrived and did my overdubs."
The song is distinctive as it opens not with a guitar riff, but with a beat played on a cowbell. The Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller performed the cowbell for the recording.
Ry Cooder
has asserted that he originated the song's main guitar riff, and has accused the Rolling Stones of "ripping him off". Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart
said of the track: "It's bloody ten times Keith you hear."
for four weeks from 23 August 1969. The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones
where it remained on the charts for 5 weeks peaking at #1. "You Can't Always Get What You Want
" was the single's B-side. It was later released on the compilation album Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
in September.
"Honky Tonk Women" was ranked #116 on the list of Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
Concert versions of "Honky Tonk Women" are included on the albums 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!'
, Love You Live
and Live Licks
.
Ike & Tina Turner
covered the song.
Waylon Jennings
covered the song on his 1970 LP Singer of Sad Songs.
On his album Lovejoy
, Albert King
sang a version with lyrics which skirted the first verse's suggestions of prostitution: "I met a gypsy barroom queen in Memphis / and on the street the summer sun did shine / The sweetest rose that ever grows in Memphis / I just can't seem to drink her off of my mind." (The lyric editor is not credited.)
Joe Cocker
performs the song on his 1970 live album Mad Dogs and Englishmen
.
Gram Parsons
' version of the song, released on the 1976 rarities compilation Sleepless Nights, features a slightly different set of lyrics and an arrangement that combines elements of both Stones versions.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
included this song in the Rolling Stones polka medley "The Hot Rocks Polka."
Hank Williams Jr. covered the song in his Born to Boogie
in July 1987.
A recording of Prince
performing the song as "Honky Tonk Women" is on the (possibly unauthorized) 1993 Japanese release The Undertaker.
Paige Miles
performed the song during the Rolling Stones Week on American Idol
.
Humble Pie
performed a live version of the song on their 1973 album Eat It
.
Ali Campbell
covered the song on his 2010 album Great British Songs.
Elton John
performed this song during a concert at A&R Studios in NYC on November 17, 1970, which appeared on his later album 11-17-70.
The New Riders of the Purple Sage performed this song during their regular opening for the Grateful Dead. Their version featured Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar recreating the signature guitar riff. Their version, much more "countrified" than the single, but not a cover of "Country Honk", either. While at the Filmore East venue, with the accompanying light show, stills of Mick Jagger in concert were projected on to the scrim above the band as they played the more rhythmic intro to the song.
Taj Mahal
covered the song on his album Blue Light Boogie. This cover was also played on the House MD episode "Sex Kills
".
Leslie West
covered the song on his album "The Great Fatsby
".
The Meters
released a version on their compilation album Kickback
in 2001
The Pogues
covered the song on their EP "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah."
. As noted above the country arrangement was the original concept of "Honky Tonk Women".
According to some sources "Country Honk" was recorded at the Elektra
recording studio in Los Angeles. Byron Berline
played the fiddle on the track, and has said that Gram Parsons
was responsible for him being chosen for the job (Berline had previously recorded with Parsons' band The Flying Burrito Brothers
). Producer Glyn Johns
suggested that Berline should record his part on the sidewalk outside the studio to add ambience to the number. Sam Cutler
, the Rolling Stones' tour manager, performed the car horn at the beginning of the track. Nanette Workman
performs backing vocals on this version (although the album sleeve credits actress Nanette Newman
). Other sources state that "Country Honk" was recorded at Olympic Studios
right after "Honky Tonk Women," with only Berline's fiddle part overdubbed at Elektra Studios; this might be supported by the existence of a bootleg recording
that contains neither the fiddle nor Mick Taylor's slide guitar. Richards has repeatedly stated that "Country Honk" is how "Honky Tonk Women" was originally written.
It was this version of the song that was played by Rick Nelson at the Rock 'n Roll Revival concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City
on October 15, 1971. As the crowd were expecting traditional rock 'n roll, (such as Nelson's older numbers, which he also played at the concert, Hello Mary Lou
and She Belongs to Me, and the music of others at the concert such as Chuck Berry
, Bo Diddley
and Bobby Rydell
) they began to boo. While some reports say that the booing was caused by police action in the back of the audience, Nelson took it personally and left the stage. He watched the rest of the concert backstage and did not reappear on stage for the finale. This event was the stimulus for the song "Garden Party", which appeared on the 1972 album of the same name
. This is evidenced by the line "then I sang a song about a honky-tonk, and it was time to leave."
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 as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.
Inspiration and Recording
The song was written by Mick JaggerMick 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
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...
while on holiday in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969. Inspired by Brazilian gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
s at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying in Matão
Matão
Matão is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 75,929 and the area is 528.44 km². The elevation is 585 m.-Corpus Christi Feast:...
, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, the song was originally released as an acoustic country song.
Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
Through the Past, Darkly is The Rolling Stones' second official compilation album, released in 1969 shortly following Brian Jones's departure from the group and subsequent death. The album was released by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO Records in the United States.In...
; and a honky-tonk version entitled "Country Honk" with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
. The concert rendition of the song featured on Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert
`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed...
differs from both the hit version and the country version, with a markedly different guitar introduction and an entirely different second verse, but is much closer to the single version than the album version.
Thematically, a "honky tonk woman" refers to a dancing girl in a western bar
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
who may work as a prostitute; the setting for the narrative in the first verse of the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
version is Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, while "Country Honk" sets the first verse in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
.
The band initially recorded the track called "Country Honk", in London in early February 1969. The song was transformed into the familiar electric, riff-based hit single "Honky Tonk Women" sometime in the spring of 1969, prior to 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...
's joining the group. In an interview in the magazine Crawdaddy, Richards credits Taylor for influencing the track: "... the song was originally written as a real Hank Williams/Jimmie Rodgers/1930s country song. And it got turned around to this other thing by Mick Taylor, who got into a completely different feel, throwing it off the wall another way." However, in 1979 Taylor recalled it this way: "I definitely added something to Honky Tonk Women, but it was more or less complete by the time I arrived and did my overdubs."
The song is distinctive as it opens not with a guitar riff, but with a beat played on a cowbell. The Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller performed the cowbell for the recording.
Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
has asserted that he originated the song's main guitar riff, and has accused the Rolling Stones of "ripping him off". Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart
Ian 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...
said of the track: "It's bloody ten times Keith you hear."
Release
The song topped the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for four weeks from 23 August 1969. The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
where it remained on the charts for 5 weeks peaking at #1. "You Can't Always Get What You Want
You Can't Always Get What You Want
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by The Rolling Stones released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written primarily by Mick Jagger with assistance from Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in its 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All...
" was the single's B-side. It was later released on the compilation album Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
Through the Past, Darkly is The Rolling Stones' second official compilation album, released in 1969 shortly following Brian Jones's departure from the group and subsequent death. The album was released by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO Records in the United States.In...
in September.
"Honky Tonk Women" was ranked #116 on the list of Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
Personnel
- Drums: Charlie Watts
- Bass: Bill Wyman
- Rhythm electric guitar: Keith Richards
- Lead electric guitars: Keith Richards (incl. solo) & Mick Taylor
- Lead vocals: Mick Jagger
- Background vocals: Keith Richards, Reparata & The Delrons, Nanette WorkmanNanette WorkmanNanette Joan Workman is today a singer-songwriter, actress and author who has been based in Quebec, Canada during much of her career. She was raised by musician parents in Jackson, Mississippi where she began her first performances. She mainly performs in French although raised as a native...
(credited as "Nanette Newman"), Doris Troy - Piano: Ian Stewart
- Cowbell: Jimmy Miller
- Brass: Steve Gregory, Bud Beadle
Other Releases/Covers
- Hot Rocks 1964–1971Hot Rocks 1964–1971Hot Rocks 1964–1971 is the first compilation album of Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein...
(1971) - Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling StonesRolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling StonesRolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones released without the band's authorisation by its former label Decca Records in 1975...
(1975) - Singles Collection: The London YearsSingles Collection: The London YearsSingles Collection: The London Years is a compilation album of Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein....
(1989) - Forty LicksForty LicksForty Licks is a double compilation album by The Rolling Stones. A 40-year career-spanning retrospective, Forty Licks is notable for being the first retrospective to combine the band's formative Decca/London era of the 1960s, now licensed by ABKCO Records , with their self-owned post-1970 material,...
(2002) - Singles 1968–1971 (2005)
Concert versions of "Honky Tonk Women" are included on the albums 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!'
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert
`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed...
, Love You Live
Love You Live
Love You Live is a double live album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the infamous El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977...
and Live Licks
Live Licks
Live Licks is a double live album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 2004. Coming six years after No Security, this seventh official Rolling Stones full-length live release captures performances from the band's year-long 2002–2003 Licks Tour in support of their career-spanning retrospective...
.
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
covered the song.
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
covered the song on his 1970 LP Singer of Sad Songs.
On his album Lovejoy
Lovejoy (album)
-Track listing:#"Honky Tonk Woman" – 3:59#"Bay Area Blues" – 2:55#"Corrina, Corrina" – 3:45#"She Caught the Katy " – 3:56...
, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
sang a version with lyrics which skirted the first verse's suggestions of prostitution: "I met a gypsy barroom queen in Memphis / and on the street the summer sun did shine / The sweetest rose that ever grows in Memphis / I just can't seem to drink her off of my mind." (The lyric editor is not credited.)
Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
performs the song on his 1970 live album Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (album)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen is Joe Cocker's 1970 live album, featuring a fusion of rock and soul. The album title is drawn from the 1931 Noël Coward song of the same name. Mostly Cocker's album is made up of covers, drawing equally from rock and soul...
.
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
' version of the song, released on the 1976 rarities compilation Sleepless Nights, features a slightly different set of lyrics and an arrangement that combines elements of both Stones versions.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
included this song in the Rolling Stones polka medley "The Hot Rocks Polka."
Hank Williams Jr. covered the song in his Born to Boogie
Born to Boogie (album)
Born to Boogie is a studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams, Jr. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in July 1987. The title track, "Heaven Can't Be Found" and "Young Country" were released as singles. The album reached #1 on the Top Country Albums chart and has been...
in July 1987.
A recording of Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
performing the song as "Honky Tonk Women" is on the (possibly unauthorized) 1993 Japanese release The Undertaker.
Paige Miles
Paige Miles
Paige Sade Miles is an American singer from Naples, Florida, who was the eleventh place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol.- Early life :...
performed the song during the Rolling Stones Week on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
Humble Pie
Humble Pie (band)
Humble Pie was a rock band from England, finding success both in the UK and the US. They are remembered for songs such as "Black Coffee" "30 Days in the Hole", "I Don't Need No Doctor", and "Natural Born Bugie"...
performed a live version of the song on their 1973 album Eat It
Eat It (Humble Pie album)
Eat It was the seventh album by English rock group Humble Pie, released in 1973. A double album, it reached #13 on the Billboard 200, and #34 in the UK.-Album profile:...
.
Ali Campbell
Ali Campbell
Ali Campbell, , is a British singer, solo artist and songwriter and was the lead singer and founding member of UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records world wide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008 Campbell left UB40 and embarked on a successful solo career.-Personal...
covered the song on his 2010 album Great British Songs.
Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
performed this song during a concert at A&R Studios in NYC on November 17, 1970, which appeared on his later album 11-17-70.
The New Riders of the Purple Sage performed this song during their regular opening for the Grateful Dead. Their version featured Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar recreating the signature guitar riff. Their version, much more "countrified" than the single, but not a cover of "Country Honk", either. While at the Filmore East venue, with the accompanying light show, stills of Mick Jagger in concert were projected on to the scrim above the band as they played the more rhythmic intro to the song.
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
covered the song on his album Blue Light Boogie. This cover was also played on the House MD episode "Sex Kills
Sex Kills
"Sex Kills" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on March 7, 2006.This episode also features Hugh Laurie's Band From TV band-mate Greg Grunberg as a guest star.-Plot:...
".
Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...
covered the song on his album "The Great Fatsby
The Great Fatsby
The Great Fatsby is the second album by American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Leslie West. It was released on Bud Prager's Phantom Records in March 1975 and distributed by RCA Records...
".
The Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
released a version on their compilation album Kickback
Kickback (album)
Kickback is a collection of rare and unreleased material from the funk group The Meters.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Arthur "Red" Neville, Ziggy Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr.; except where indicated#"Big Chief"...
in 2001
The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
covered the song on their EP "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah."
Country Honk
"Country Honk" is a country version of "Honky Tonk Women", released five months after on the album Let It BleedLet It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
. As noted above the country arrangement was the original concept of "Honky Tonk Women".
According to some sources "Country Honk" was recorded at the Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
recording studio in Los Angeles. Byron Berline
Byron Berline
Byron Berline is an American fiddle player.-Biography:Berline started playing the fiddle at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. In 1965, he recorded the album Pickin' and Fiddlin with the Dillards...
played the fiddle on the track, and has said that Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
was responsible for him being chosen for the job (Berline had previously recorded with Parsons' band The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
). Producer Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns
Glyn 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...
suggested that Berline should record his part on the sidewalk outside the studio to add ambience to the number. Sam Cutler
Sam Cutler
Sam Cutler is best known as former tour manager for the Rolling Stones. In numerous magazine articles and books, Cutler has been casually demonized as an unwitting, yet primary, catalyst of the violence that took place at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert.-Early life and career:Sam Cutler was born...
, the Rolling Stones' tour manager, performed the car horn at the beginning of the track. Nanette Workman
Nanette Workman
Nanette Joan Workman is today a singer-songwriter, actress and author who has been based in Quebec, Canada during much of her career. She was raised by musician parents in Jackson, Mississippi where she began her first performances. She mainly performs in French although raised as a native...
performs backing vocals on this version (although the album sleeve credits actress Nanette Newman
Nanette Newman
-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
). Other sources state that "Country Honk" was recorded at Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
right after "Honky Tonk Women," with only Berline's fiddle part overdubbed at Elektra Studios; this might be supported by the existence of a bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
that contains neither the fiddle nor Mick Taylor's slide guitar. Richards has repeatedly stated that "Country Honk" is how "Honky Tonk Women" was originally written.
It was this version of the song that was played by Rick Nelson at the Rock 'n Roll Revival concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on October 15, 1971. As the crowd were expecting traditional rock 'n roll, (such as Nelson's older numbers, which he also played at the concert, Hello Mary Lou
Hello Mary Lou
"Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by U.S. singer Gene Pitney and Cayet Mangiaracina and performed by Ricky Nelson in English and German in 1961. It reached #9 on the Billboard music charts on May 28, 1961, although the other side of the single, "Travelin' Man", hit #1...
and She Belongs to Me, and the music of others at the concert such as Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
and Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell is an American professional singer, mainly of rock and roll music. In the early 1960s he was considered a so-called "teen idol"...
) they began to boo. While some reports say that the booing was caused by police action in the back of the audience, Nelson took it personally and left the stage. He watched the rest of the concert backstage and did not reappear on stage for the finale. This event was the stimulus for the song "Garden Party", which appeared on the 1972 album of the same name
Garden Party (album)
Garden Party is Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band's hit Country rock album from 1972.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Rick Nelson; except where indicated#"Let It Bring You Along" Garden Party is Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band's hit Country rock album from 1972.-Track listing:All tracks...
. This is evidenced by the line "then I sang a song about a honky-tonk, and it was time to leave."