Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones song)

Last updated

"Dead Flowers"
Song by The Rolling Stones
from the album Sticky Fingers
Released23 April 1971
RecordedApril 1970
Studio Olympic, London
Genre
Length4:03
Label Rolling Stones Records
Songwriter(s) Jagger–Richards
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller

"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.

Contents

Recording and performance history

Recording of "Dead Flowers" took place in April 1970 at the Olympic Studios in London. The lyrics to the song are notably dark, and feature the line, "I'll be in my basement room, with a needle and a spoon", a reference to injecting heroin.

"Dead Flowers" was written during the period when the Stones were stepping into country music territory, when Richards's friendship with Gram Parsons was influencing his songwriting. Jagger commented in 2003:

The 'Country' songs we recorded later, like "Dead Flowers" on Sticky Fingers or "Far Away Eyes" on Some Girls , are slightly different (than our earlier ones). The actual music is played completely straight, but it's me who's not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I'm a blues singer not a country singer – I think it's more suited to Keith's voice than mine. [3]

Both Richards and Mick Taylor contribute the 'honky-tonk' style lead guitar lines throughout the album version. Richards's choppier fills act primarily as a response to Jagger's vocal lines during the verses, while Taylor's more fluid licks counteract with the vocals of the chorus. It is Taylor who performs the guitar solo in place of a third verse.

"Dead Flowers" was performed live during the album tours for Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. in 1970–72, then once during the Black and Blue Tour in 1976. It was not played again until the Steel Wheels Tour in 1989. Live performances of the song from 1995 can be found on the Stones' album Stripped and its 2016 edition Totally Stripped.

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Sticky Fingers liner notes [4]

The Rolling Stones

Additional Performer

Cover versions

The song has been widely covered. Townes Van Zandt included a version of the song on his album of live covers Roadsongs ; [5] this version was used in the film The Big Lebowski . Jerry Lee Lewis released a version of the song on his 2010 album, Mean Old Man , which featured Mick Jagger. [6] Willie Nelson performed this song with Keith Richards, Hank Williams III and Ryan Adams on his live album Willie Nelson & Friends – Stars & Guitars . [7]

Related Research Articles

<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.

<i>Made in the Shade</i> 1975 greatest hits album by The Rolling Stones

Made in the Shade, released in 1975, is the third official compilation album by the Rolling Stones, and the first under their Atlantic Records contract. It covers material from Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974).

<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.

<i>Rarities 1971–2003</i> 2005 compilation album by The Rolling Stones

Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records – as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America – and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003. The album peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard chart.

Sweet Black Angel” is a song by the Rolling Stones, included on their 1972 album Exile on Main St. It was also released on a single as the B-side to "Tumbling Dice" prior to the album. The song features a West Indian rhythm.

<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.

"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.

"Sweet Virginia" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and was the sixth song on the Rolling Stones' 1972 double album Exile on Main St. The song is a slow country-inspired composition with a saxophone solo.

"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.

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

"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">Sister Morphine</span> Song by Marianne Faithfull

"Sister Morphine" is a song written by Marianne Faithfull, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Faithfull released the original version of the song as the B-side to her Decca Records single "Something Better" on 21 February 1969. A different version was released two years later by the Rolling Stones for their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. Jagger produced the track.

<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">Far Away Eyes</span> 1978 single by the Rolling Stones

"Far Away Eyes" is the sixth track from the English rock band the Rolling Stones' 1978 album, Some Girls. It was released, as the B-side of the single "Miss You", on Rolling Stones Records, on 9 June 1978. Rolling Stone magazine made it the 73rd song on their list of 100 Greatest Rolling Stone's Songs.

<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">All Down the Line</span> 1972 single by the Rolling Stones

"All Down the Line" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, which is included on their 1972 album Exile on Main St.. Although at one point slated to be the lead single from the album, it was ultimately released as a single as the B-side of "Happy."

"Loving Cup" is a song by the Rolling Stones, which appears on their 1972 album Exile on Main St.

<i>Roadsongs</i> (Townes van Zandt album) 1994 live album by Townes Van Zandt

Roadsongs is a live album of cover songs released by folk/country singer–songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1994.

"Silver Train" is a song by the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones, from their 1973 album Goats Head Soup. The lyrics deal with the singer's relationship with a prostitute. Recording of the song had already begun in 1970 during sessions for Sticky Fingers. It also was the B-side of the single "Angie", which went to No. 1 in the US and top 5 in the UK.

References

  1. "The 25 best country rock songs of all time". Classic Rock Magazine . 5 August 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Revised and Updated ed.). Universe. ISBN   978-0-7893-2074-2.
  3. Janovitz, Bill (2013). Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 205. ISBN   9781250026316.
  4. Sticky Fingers CD
  5. Robert Palmer, "Review: Townes Van Zandt - Roadsongs, Rolling Stone , 514, June 30, 1994
  6. Jerry Lee Lewis, Mean Old Man Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  7. "Friends Flank Willie Nelson On Live Album". Billboard. 20 September 2002.