The song "I Wanna Be Your Man": creation history, best performance, covers

In the '60s, many of the bands that later became world-famous only started their creative rise. Such mastodons of modern rock music as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones also began their journey with little-known simple songs that nevertheless rose to the top of the charts.

This article will talk about the song "I Wanna Be Your Man"about its interesting history of creation and the struggle for the right to be called the best performer of the hit song of the early '60s.

The story of a song meant for Ringo Starr

In the '60s, The Beatles already had large The success with the public, however, John Lennon and Paul McCartney had to experience the love of the fans. But as time went on, the popularity increased and others of the band members Ringo Starr and George Harrison. For the former, the Lennon/McCartney creative tandem created a song called «Boys»so that the drummer could also please the fans not only with his playing, but also with his voice.

As the band's fan base grew, the songs Ringo didn't play at concerts were still included into the set lists, and then one song was no longer enough for the drummer's fans. At that time John and Paul decided to create another song specially For Ringo.

The idea for the new song did not come to the musicians at once: it all began with John, who happened to see a phrase in a newspaper "I Wanna Be Your Man". He had often noticed such pithy lines, but this one became the focal point for writing another hit song to it. Paul soon began writing lyrics, trying to create a composition, maximum close to "Boys." The songwriting process continued until the meeting with The Rolling Stones.

The Liverpool Four's version was released in 1963 in the late fall on the British version of the second album "With The Beatles". For a long and painful time, the band tried to record this composition. The musicians recorded about six various options arrangements, and finally settled on the last one. The final thing was to overlay the organ sound on the best version, and then the track was ready for release.

Several times the musicians recorded this song for BBCThe Beatles' live broadcasts were recorded in 1964, and then many years later for a compilation of The Beatles' live performances on the radio. Also one version of the song was recorded for "Around The Beatles.".

How did I Wanna Be Your Man end up with the Rollings?

There are several versions of how the musicians "exchanged." song with his colleagues. Paul McCartney claimed that he and John saw Mick and Keith in a cab and asked for a ride, and the conversation revealed that the Stones were looking for a song for the single. Then the generous Beatles shared with a freshly written composition, saying that it was not yet finished.

Next, the musicians were invited to the studio where the Stones were recording. Paul and John played an unfinished version of "I Wanna Be Your Man"and Mick and Keith thought the song might be a commercial success for them. The rockers quickly agreed to use it, but they needed completed option. Then the leaders of The Beatles withdrew, and after a while came to their colleagues already with ready to go lyrics. This ability to quickly find coherent words for a song made a lasting impression on the musicians.

The version recorded by the Stones is a bit previouslythan the Beatles' version, was released as a single in early November 1963. It climbed to number 12 on the British top chart, and became the first big hit of The Rolling Stones beginners. It features Bill Wyman's powerful bass and Brian Jones' guitar; it also counts as one of the rare songs with backing vocals performed by only Jones.

The Stones made the composition absolutely other. It got a more upbeat arrangement, in their rough and fiery style. It was Lennon and McCartney's composing that became inspiring for Richards and Jagger, and after that they started writing songs on their own.

So who's cooler?

Undoubtedly, both versions of the song are extremely unusual, both in their structure and in the history of their creation. Despite the fact that the rollings were a little more successful with "I Wanna Be Your Man" and spent some time in the top chart, their colleagues did not keep themselves waiting and often performed this song not only at concerts, but also on the radio. Their discography includes several versions recorded specially for the BBC, and for the Stones the composition was only starting track.

Fans welcomed versions from both bands. For the Stones, this track was the beginning of independent The writing of all subsequent hits, as well as the impetus for gaining a wide of fame.

If listeners responded positively to both releases, the musicians differently responded to the situation. John Lennon was not happy about this composition, and in a 1980 interview he admitted that more successful they definitely would not have shared the song with their "rivals. However, Paul clarified in one interview that they were in great relationship with The Rolling Stones, and he, as the author, was pleased help colleagues with the release of the single.

Keith Richards also spoke out. against animosity between the bands: he stressed that the press wanted to make a show out of it, but without that the bands never did not take such a "rivalry" seriously.

Other Cover Versions Worth Considering

"I Wanna Be Your Man" has been covered extensively. A parody version of the '60s hit was presented by the pop-rock band The Barron Knights a year after the release of the Rolling and Beatles versions. They imitated exactly the Stones version on their single "Call Up the Groups.". However, their idea of a parody of the original song was not appreciated by the publishers, and the musicians had to remake the single again, and it still became hereby hit.

The punk rock band also recorded a cover of the song. The Stooges in 2007 on their fourth studio album, The Weirdness. "I Wanna Be Your Man" became bonus track on the vinyl version of the album, the recording of which also included Iggy Pop.