'Like A Rolling Stone' was released as a CD single in the UK exactly 29 years ago on October 30, 1995, where it peaked at #12.

29 years today!

Originally written by Bob Dylan, 'Like A Rolling Stone', reached number two in the US charts in 1965 and became a worldwide hit, until being considered one of the most influential compositions in post-war popular music.

The Rolling Stones' cover was recorded live at the Brixton Academy, London, on July 19, 1995. This is the first single extracted from the album 'Stripped' which included various performances from intimate shows at legendary venues [also from the Paradiso in Amsterdam or the Olympia in Paris] and reworked studio tracks.
A popular video directed by Michel Gondry promoted the track which peaked at #12 in the UK charts, becoming the biggest band's UK single in over a decade. [+]

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].