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

In the '60s, many of the bands that would later become world-famous only started their artistic rise. Such mastodons of modern rock music as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones also started their journey with the 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 its struggle for the right to be called best the singer of an early '60s hit.

The story of the song intended for Ringo Starr

In the '60s, the Beatles already had large The success of the public, although John Lennon and Paul McCartney had to experience the love of the fans. But as time went on, so did the popularity others band members Ringo Starr and George Harrison. For the former, the creative tandem of Lennon/McCartney 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, Ringo's songs that were not played in concert still were included into the set lists, and then one song was not enough for the drummer's fans. At that time John and Paul decided to create one more song specially for Ringo.

The idea for a new song did not come to the musicians immediately: it all started with John, who accidentally saw a phrase in a newspaper "I Wanna Be Your Man". He often picked up on such pithy lines, but this one became the centre for writing another hit song to it. Paul soon began writing the lyrics, trying to create a composition, maximally closer to Boys. The songwriting process continued until meeting The Rolling Stones.

The Liverpool Four's version was released in 1963 in late autumn on the UK version of their second album "With The Beatles". Long and painfully the band tried to record this composition. The musicians recorded about 6 different options The final step was to put the organ sound on the best version, and then the track was ready for release. The final thing was to overlay the organ sound on the best version, and then the track was ready for release.

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

How did I Wanna Be Your Man end up at Rolling Stone?

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

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

The version recorded by the Stones is a bit beforethan the Beatles' version, was released as a single in early November 1963. It rose to number 12 on the UK top chart, and became the first big hit of The Rolling Stones' beginnings. It features Bill Wyman's powerful bass and Brian Jones' guitar; it is also considered one of the rare songs where backing vocals are sung by only Jones.

The Stones made the composition completely other. It was given a more upbeat arrangement, in their rough and fiery style. It was the writing of Lennon and McCartney 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 creation story. Despite the fact that the Rolling Stones were a little more successful with "I Wanna Be Your Man" and spent some time in the top chart, their colleagues did not keep waiting and often performed this song not only in concerts but also on the radio. In their discography there are several versions recorded specially for the BBC, and for the Stones it was just a starting with a track.

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

If listeners have responded favourably to both releases, musicians have differently were responding to the situation. John Lennon was not happy about the composition, and in a 1980 interview admitted that more successful song they certainly wouldn't share with their "rivals". However, Paul clarified in an interview that they were in the excellent relationship with The Rolling Stones, and as an author, it was a pleasure for him assist to your colleagues on the release of the single.

Keith Richards has also spoken out vs. hostility between the bands: he emphasised that the press wanted to make a show out of it, but without it the collectives' never didn't take this "rivalry" seriously.

Other covers worthy of note

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

A cover of the song was also recorded by a punk rock band 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, which was also recorded by Iggy Pop.