Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Last updated

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
Song by the Rolling Stones
from the album Sticky Fingers
Released23 April 1971
RecordedMarch–May 1970
Studio Olympic, London
Genre
Length7:15
Label Rolling Stones/Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Jagger–Richards
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is a track by English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers . The track is over seven minutes long, and begins with a Keith Richards open-G tuned guitar intro. The main song lasts for two minutes and 43 seconds, after which it transforms into an extended improvisational jam. The entire track was captured in one take, with the jam being a happy accident; the band had assumed the tape machine had been stopped, and were surprised to find the entire session had been captured. Originally they were going to end the song before the jam started, but were so pleased with the jam that they decided to keep it in. Besides the regular Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Mick Taylor (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums) and Bill Wyman (bass), the track also features conga player Rocky Dijon, saxophonist Bobby Keys, organist Billy Preston and additional percussion by producer Jimmy Miller.

Contents

Composition and recording

The track featured Rocky Dijon on congas; tenor saxophonist Bobby Keys performs an extended saxophone solo over the guitar work of Richards and Mick Taylor, punctuated by the organ work of Billy Preston. At 4:40 Taylor takes over from Richards and carries the song to its finish with a lengthy guitar solo. [1]

Richards described writing the guitar riff:

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" came out flying I just found the tuning and the riff and started to swing it and Charlie picked up on it just like that, and we're thinking, hey, this is some groove. So it was smiles all around. For a guitar player it's no big deal to play, the chopping, staccato bursts of chords, very direct and spare. [1]

In 2002, Richards commented on the recording:

The jam at the end wasn't inspired by Carlos Santana. We didn't even know they were still taping. We thought we'd finished. We were just rambling and they kept the tape rolling. I figured we'd just fade it off. It was only when we heard the playback that we realised, Oh, they kept it going. Basically we realised we had two bits of music. There's the song and there's the jam. [1]

Taylor recalled in a 1979 interview:

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" ... is one of my favourites ... [The jam at the end] just happened by accident; that was never planned. Towards the end of the song I just felt like carrying on playing. Everybody was putting their instruments down, but the tape was still rolling and it sounded good, so everybody quickly picked up their instruments again and carried on playing. It just happened, and it was a one-take thing. A lot of people seem to really like that part. [1]

Taylor added, "I used a brown Gibson ES-345 for 'Dead Flowers' and the solo on 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking'." [1]

Jagger noted in the Spotify Landmark interview on the album that the key was too high for his voice and that "I [did] lots of vocals, harmonies to sort of hide the fact that I didn't really hit the notes that great in the chorus bits." [2]

An early alternate take of the song (with dummy/placeholder lyrics) was released in June 2015 on the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of the reissued Sticky Fingers album.

Accolades

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine listed it at number 25 in "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time." [3]

"Mick Taylor had the biggest influence on me, without me even knowing it," remarked Slash. "My favourite Stones records were Beggars Banquet , Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers… One of the greatest Mick Taylor solos is 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking'. It's the kind of stuff that's almost like old Eric Clapton – it's very simple stuff, but it's about how the notes are placed and how you approach them." [4]

The Rolling Stones live performances

The number was part of the Rolling Stones' concert repertoire during their Licks Tour in 2002–2003 and A Bigger Bang Tour in 2005–2007. In these renditions, Jagger played a harmonica solo after Keys' sax solo, and Ronnie Wood performed the extended guitar solo. A live recording was released on the band's 2003 DVD set Four Flicks and on the 2004 concert album Live Licks .

It was also performed live during shows in 2013, with Mick Taylor appearing as a special guest with the band.

Another live version was published on the release Sticky Fingers Live - From The Vault, recorded on 20 May 2015 at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, California, where the band played the entire Sticky Fingers album.

Personnel

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians

Live Licks

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [5] Gold35,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Taylor</span> British guitarist, former member of the Rolling Stones (born 1949)

Michael Kevin Taylor is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on Let It Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974).

<i>Let It Bleed</i> 1969 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Let It Bleed is a studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 28 November 1969 by London Records in the United States and on 5 December by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. It is the eighth British album and tenth American album. Released during the band's 1969 American Tour, it is the follow-up to Beggars Banquet (1968), and like that album is a return to the group's more blues-oriented approach that was prominent in the pre-Aftermath (1966) period of their career. Additional sounds on the album draw influence from gospel, country blues and country rock.

<i>Sticky Fingers</i> 1971 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Sticky Fingers is the ninth British and eleventh American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The Stones released it on 23 April 1971 on their new, and own label Rolling Stones Records. They had been contracted by Decca Records and London Records in the UK and the US since 1963. On this album, Mick Taylor made his second full-length appearance on a Rolling Stones album. It was the first studio album without Brian Jones, who died two years earlier. The original cover artwork, conceived by Andy Warhol and photographed and designed by members of his art collective, The Factory, showed a picture of a man in tight jeans, and had a working zip that opened to reveal underwear fabric. The cover was expensive to produce and damaged the vinyl record, so the size of the zipper adjustment was made by John Kosh at ABKCO records. Later re-issues featured just the outer photograph of the jeans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones song)</span> 1971 single by The Rolling Stones

"Brown Sugar" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted at number two. In the United States, Billboard ranked it as the number 16 song for 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Can't Always Get What You Want</span> 1969 single by the Rolling Stones

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in its 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" before dropping a place the following year.

<i>Metamorphosis</i> (Rolling Stones album) 1975 compilation album by the Rolling Stones

Metamorphosis is the third compilation album of the Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein. Released in 1975, Metamorphosis centres on outtakes and alternate versions of well-known songs recorded from 1964 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Keys</span> Musical artist

Robert Henry Keys was an American saxophonist who performed as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Nilsson, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and other prominent musicians. Keys played on hundreds of recordings and was a touring musician from 1956 until his death in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Horses (Rolling Stones song)</span> 1971 song by The Rolling Stones

"Wild Horses" is a song written by the British rock band the Rolling Stones with Gram Parsons. It was first released in 1970 by the Flying Burrito Brothers as the Stones didn't think the demo was worth recording fully. It was subsequently recorded by the Stones for their 1971 album Sticky Fingers when they felt it was worth reconsideration. It was also released on 12 June 1971 as a single, with "Sway" as its B-side.

Ventilator Blues” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones that is included on their 1972 album Exile on Main St.

"Dead Flowers" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers as the fourth track of side two.

"Sway" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was also released as the b-side of the "Wild Horses" single in June 1971. This single was released in the US only. Initial pressings of the single contain an alternate take; later pressings include the album version instead.

"Midnight Rambler" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song is a loose biography of Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler.

"Factory Girl" is a song by the Rolling Stones which appears on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.

"I Got the Blues" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It is a slow-paced, bluesy song featuring languid guitars with heavy blues and soul influences.

"Goin' Home" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was the longest popular music song at the time, coming in at 11 minutes and 35 seconds, and was the first extended rock improvisation released by a major recording act. It was included as the sixth track on side one of the United Kingdom version and the fifth track on side two of the American version of the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath.

"Live with Me" is a song by the Rolling Stones from their album Let It Bleed, released in December 1969. It was the first song recorded with the band's new guitarist Mick Taylor, who joined the band in June 1969, although the first record the band released with Taylor was the single version of Honky Tonk Women. Taylor later described the recording of "Live with Me" as "kind of the start of that particular era for the Stones, where Keith and I traded licks."

"Moonlight Mile" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears as the closing track on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The song features multiple musicians playing alternate instruments due to the frequent absence of Richards during recording sessions of the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitch (Rolling Stones song)</span> Song by The Rolling Stones

"Bitch" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Bitch" is a "hard-bitten rocker" featuring Jagger on vocals and a powerful horn line. It was released as the B-side to the advance single, "Brown Sugar", from their ninth British and eleventh American studio album, Sticky Fingers. It was originally released one week before the album. Despite not being used as an official single by itself, the tune has garnered major airplay from AOR radio stations. The song was recorded in October 1970 at London's Olympic Studios, and at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rolling Stones UK Tour 1971</span> 1971 concert tour by the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones' 1971 UK Tour was a brief concert tour of England and Scotland that took place over three weeks in March 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zip Code (tour)</span> 2015 concert tour by the Rolling Stones

Zip Code was a concert tour by English rock band the Rolling Stones. It began on 24 May 2015 in San Diego and travelled across North America before concluding on 15 July 2015 in Quebec City. The tour was announced on 31 March 2015 with tickets going on sale to the general public two weeks later. The name is a reference to the jeans-related artwork for Sticky Fingers, which received a special re-release in 2015, and had its entire track list played during the Zip Code Tour.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 McPherson, Ian. "Track Talk: Can't You Hear Me Knocking" . Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  2. "On "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", a song by The Rolling Stones on Spotify". Open.spotify.com. 23 April 1971. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. Rolling Stone. "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time - Number 25 of 100". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  4. "The 100 greatest guitarist of all time". Classic Rock . No. 136. September 2009.
  5. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 30 November 2023.