The single of the day ★ Emotional Rescue

'Emotional Rescue' was released as a 7" single in the UK exactly 45 years ago on June 20, 1980, where it peaked at #9.
Its US counterpart, released at the same time, reached #3.

Recorded between June and October 1979, 'Emotional Rescue' was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and is a disco-influenced number, somewhat similar to the band's 1978 hit 'Miss You'.
The song is notable as one of the earliest songs by the group to show the growing rift between main songwriters Jagger and Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is noted to not have liked the direction in which Jagger was trying to take the band with disco-like compositions, although this may have been exaggerated by the press and Richards' hard-rock-oriented image. The song is based around... [+]

Vintage distributors' jukebox strips are popular among collectors.

About the songs
Nearly 80 songs recorded by the Rolling Stones entered either the UK or US charts since 1963, twelve of them peaking at #1 ['Satisfaction', 'Get Off Of My Cloud', 'Paint It, Black' and 'Honky Tonk Women' were #1 in both countries].

The early years also were the most prolific and, whereas most titles were not yet penned by the Jagger-Richards tandem, record labels Decca [in the UK] and London [in the US] would issue singles at a frantic pace, building the band's reputation as the Beatles' most serious threat.

However, no global marketing strategy would emerge before the 70's, and both countries cultivated their differences in their respective discographies, as would their affiliates in other parts of the world.

The richness and diversity of the Rolling Stones singles discography is mainly due to the fact that, during the 60's, Decca would consider singles an independent market from the LPs' one, whereas London would use this format as a 'lift' for album sales. Therefore, British singles would offer non-album tracks [except for compilations], and Decca England would pass on a few US releases, while the US would opt for different B-sides and be a little more productive.

US exclusive couplings and singles would however often be released on Decca in Europe, notably in Scandinavia for which UK would exclusively press 'export' singles [Denmark, Sweden and Norway also pressed their own records and imported regular UK releases].