The single of the day

'Paint It, Black' was released as a 7" single in the US on May 6, 1966, where it peaked at #1.
Its UK counterpart, released on May 13, 1966, also reached #1.
Originally titled 'Paint It Black' without a comma [Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca], 'Paint It, Black' was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, though Brian Jones contributed to the song's signature riff. Bill Wyman claims in his books that the song was a collective effort of the group, a 'Nanker-Phelge' one, but mistakenly credited to Jagger/Richards at the end.

The song was released in the UK as the first single from their album 'Aftermath' and reached number one in both the US and the UK charts.

Again, US and UK B-sides differ. America opted for 'Stupid Girl' while, except for a few ex... [+]

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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 [Scandinavian countries also pressed their own records and imported regular UK releases, see the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian discographies].

Each song from the charts offer comprehensive details on its:

• history
• authors & recording credits
• 7" PS worldwide gallery
• cover information
• additional info [lyrics, video, sheet music, links]

In order to access all 7" releases for a specific title, use the search engine above.

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