Record #0789: Get Off of My Cloud / I’m Free – THE ROLLING STONES

Decca 45-F 22265 (original Finnish release) Finland, 1965
Words & Music by:  Side A – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards; Side B – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Musicians: Brian Jones (lead guitar, acoustic guitar & 12-string guitar on side A; rhythm guitar & organ on side B), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, backing vocals on side B), Keith Richards (rhythm guitar on side A, lead guitar on side B, backing vocals), Bill Wyman (bass, backing vocals on side A), Charlie Watts (drums), Ian Stewart (piano on side A), James W. Alexander (tambourine on side B), unknown hand clappers
Recording sessions: Produced by Andrew Loog Oldham at RCA Studios, Hollywood, CA; Side A on 5. and side B on 6. September 1965. The group worked on the songs in the same studio already on 7.-10. July 1965.
Highest chart positions:  Finland #2 (December 1965), UK #1, US #1, Germany #1, Canada #1, Norway #2, Sweden #2.

This is a fairly rare Finnish pressing. The song that blocked this from the #1 spot in Finnish charts was the Beatles’ “Yesterday”.

These guys were busy at the time. On the 4^th of September they did two shows in Belfast, Northern Ireland, then they spent two days in RCA Studio in California and on the 8^th, they did a show in Douglas, Isle of Man, then on the 11^th, they started a tour in Germany and Austria.

The UK release had “The Singer Not the Song” as the flip side. The US release had the same songs as the Finnish one.

List price:  Finnish release, not found in my US catalogs. These have been sold in eBay for 20-51 euros.

 

Record #0788: Come On / I Want To Be Loved – THE ROLLING STONES

Decca F 11675 (original) UK, 7. June 1963
Words & Music by:  Side A – Chuck Berry; Side B – Willie Dixon
Musicians: Brian Jones (harmonica, backing vocals), Mick Jagger (lead vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass, backing vocals), Charlie Watts (drums)
Recording sessions: Produced by Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton at Olympic Studios, London, UK on 10. May 1963
Highest chart positions:  UK #21

This was the debut release of the Rolling Stones, which was very much Brian Jones’ band at the time and in their early years. Their first gig with this band name was five days after the release of this single.

The session also included a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Pretty Thing” and (possibly) also the Clovers’ “Love Potion #9”. Those have not been released

List price:  UK release, hence not found in my US catalogs. These have been sold in eBay for 15-30 euros.

 

Record #0787: I Got To Find My Baby / Mad Lad – CHUCK BERRY

Chess 1763 (original) USA, August 1960
Words & Music by:  Side A – Chuck Berry; Side B – Billy Davis
Musicians: Chuck Berry (vocals, lead guitar on side A, steel guitar on side B), Matthew Murphy (guitar), Lafayette Leake (piano), Leroy C. Davis and an unknown sax player (tenor sax on side A), Reggie Boyd (electric bass on side A), Willie Dixon (upright bass on side B), Odie Payne (drums)
Recording sessions: Produced by Leonard and Phil Chess at Ter-Mar Records Studio, Chicago, IL; Side A – 12. February 1960; Side B - 12. April 1960
Highest chart positions:  This didn’t chart

Both tracks were included on Berry’s 1960 album “Rockin’ at the Hops” (Chess LP-1448). Some sources claim that Johnnie Johnson is the pianist on the album, but the session details show that the piano was played by Lafayette Leake - at least in these two sessions.

An interesting detail is that “Mad Lad” was credited to Chuck Berry in the UK release while in this one it was credited to Billy Davis. I’ve posted the UK release here.

List price:  Very Good+ is $12,50, Near Mint is $25