Paint It Black

"Paint It Black" (originally released as "Paint It, Black") is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is an uptempo song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences featuring a sitar part played by multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones. The lyrics are about grief, death, and loss. The song was released as a single on 7 May 1966 in the United States by London Records and 13 May in the United Kingdom by Decca Records. It was included as the opening track on the American version of the band's 1966 studio album "Aftermath".
Contemporary reviews at the time were mixed, with some music critics believing its sitar sound was an attempt to copy the Beatles. Retrospectively, critics have considered "Paint It Black" more favourably, with "Rolling Stone" ranking it one of the greatest songs of all time. A chart success for the Stones, the song spent eleven weeks – including two at number one – on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and spent a total of 21 weeks – including one atop the chart – on the UK Singles Chart. It was their third number-one single in the US and sixth in the UK. The song also topped charts in Canada and the Netherlands. It received a platinum certification in the UK from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and gold from Italy's Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI).
Since its initial release, the song has remained influential as the first number one hit featuring a sitar, particularly in the UK, where it has charted on two other occasions. To promote the song, the Stones performed it live on "The Ed Sullivan Show." "Paint It Black" has been the subject of cover versions, included in compilation albums, and has made various film soundtrack appearances. The song has been included on the set lists of multiple tours by the Rolling Stones and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.
Background and development.
"Paint It Black" came at a pivotal period in the Rolling Stones' recording history, a time that saw the songwriting collaboration of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards assert itself as the principal composer of the band's original material. This is evident from the sessions for "Aftermath" (1966), where the duo penned the complete track list for the first time. Brian Jones, overshadowed by Jagger and Richards, grew bored with attempting to write songs, as well as with conventional guitar melodies. To alleviate his boredom, Jones explored Eastern instruments, specifically the Indian sitar, with a view to bolstering the band's musical texture and complexity. A multi-instrumentalist, Jones was able to develop a tune from the sitar in a short amount of time; he had a background with the instrument largely from his studies under Harihar Rao, a disciple of Ravi Shankar, as far back as 1961. Following a discussion with George Harrison of the Beatles, who had recently recorded sitar on "Norwegian Wood", Jones arranged basic melodies with the instrument that, over time, morphed into the one featured in "Paint It Black".
Writing and recording.
Jagger and Richards wrote "Paint It Black" while on tour with the Stones in Australia. The song was recorded between 6 and 9 March 1966 by sound engineer Dave Hassinger at RCA Studios in Los Angeles. Andrew Loog Oldham produced all of "Aftermath"'s tracks, including "Paint It Black".
"Paint It Black" follows a simple verse form that lacks a refrain, starting with five consecutive 16-bar verses before relaxing into a chanted section and finishing in a frantic coda. The song was originally written as a standard pop arrangement in a minor key similar to "The House of the Rising Sun", which Jagger humorously compared to "songs for Jewish weddings". However, the Stones were dissatisfied with this version and considered scrapping the song altogether. During a session break, Bill Wyman twiddled with a Hammond organ in search of a heavier bass sound; Wyman's playing inspired the uptempo and Eastern pentatonic melody. The sitar was brought into the mix when Harihar Rao happened to walk in the studio with the instrument in hand. Soon after the recording session, Richards believed that the conclusion of the track was over-recorded and that it could have potentially been improved.
Wyman was later critical of Oldham's treatment of Jagger and Richards as songwriters to the exclusion of the rest of the Stones. He particularly felt "Paint It Black" should have been credited to the band's collective pseudonym, Nanker Phelge, rather than Jagger–Richards, since the song originated from a studio improvisation by himself, Jones and Watts, with Jones providing the melody line.
Music and lyrics.
Through the use of colour-based metaphors, the song's lyrics describe the grief suffered by one stunned by the sudden and unexpected loss of a partner. Commentators often speculate that Jagger took inspiration from novelist James Joyce's 1922 book "Ulysses", taking the excerpt "I have to turn my head until my darkness goes", referring to the novel's theme of a world view of desperation and desolation.
In a 1995 interview, when commenting on the musical styles found on "Aftermath", Jagger described "Paint It Black" as "this kind of Turkish song". According to the music scholar James E. Perone, while the introductory sitar passage is played in an Indian fashion, "the rhythmic and melodic feel of the Eastern-sounding phrases actually call to mind the Middle East more than India". He adds that the lyrical content – a character "so entrenched in his depression and rage that he has lost all hope" – establishes the concept for the album's American edition, with each of the following songs offering insight into "the darkness of his psyche". The striking motif on the sitar is complemented by Jagger's droning and slight nasal singing. In addition, "Paint It Black" was highlighted by Wyman's heavy bass, Charlie Watts' low-pitch drumming and Richards' bolero-driven acoustic guitar outro. Commentators and reviewers have classified "Paint It Black" as raga rock, psychedelia, and psychedelic rock.
Release.
"Paint It Black" was released as a single in the US on 7 May 1966 by London Records and on 13 May in the UK by Decca Records. The unexpected success of the single in the US caused the Stones to add the song to the American release of "Aftermath", where it appeared as the opening track; it replaced "Mother's Little Helper", which proved controversial in the UK. Its delayed North America release resulted in pirate radio stations playing the single up to two weeks before its release. The song was originally released as "Paint It, Black", the comma being an error by Decca, which stirred controversy over its racial interpretation. The Stones performed "Paint It Black" live on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on 11 September.
"Paint It Black" has appeared on numerous Stones compilations, including "Hot Rocks 1964–1971" (1971), ' (1989), "Forty Licks" (2002), and "GRRR!" (2012). Live recordings are featured on the concert albums "Flashpoint" (1991), "Live Licks" (2004), "Shine a Light" (2008), "Hyde Park Live" (2013), and ' (2016).
Commercial performance.
In the UK, "Paint It Black" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart during a 10 week stay, becoming the Rolling Stones' sixth UK number one. Seven days after its UK release, "Paint It Black" had sold 300,000 advance copies; it was later certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In 2007, the song re-entered the UK Singles chart at number 70 for an 11 week stint. In Germany, "Paint It Black" peaked at number one on the Official German Charts; its 2018 re-issue was certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) in the country. The single was a top five hit in other European countries, peaking at number two in Austria; number three in Belgium; number two in Ireland; number two in Norway; and number four in Spain. Upon its 1990 reissue, "Paint It Black" charted at number 61. The single's 2007 re-issue charted at number 49 on the Official German Charts and its 2012 re-issue charted number at 127 in France.
"Paint It Black" debuted at number 48 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart for the week of 14 May 1966. The song took three weeks to rise to number one, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks, being replaced by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night." Its stint at number one made it the band's third number one in the US and the first song to feature a sitar to peak at number one in the country. By June, it had sold more than a million copies. Its rise to number one was called "the list's most violent shakeup" since the previous year. "Paint It Black" remained on the chart for a total of 11 weeks. The song was ranked 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 of 1966. Further re-issues of the single have not individually peaked on the "Billboard" Hot 100, but 2008 sales did see "Paint It Black" reach number 73 on the "Billboard" Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales. According to the pop historian Richard Havers, "Aftermath"s 1966 US chart run was assisted by the success of "Paint It Black". "Paint It Black" also topped singles charts in Canada and the Netherlands.
In a KEYS national survey taken in June 1966, "Paint It Black" was number one in the United States. Surveys conducted by the Associated Press and United Press International identified the song as ranking No. 1 in the US on the week of 12-19 June 1966.
In 1966 year-end charts, "Paint It Black" ranked number 21 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 30 in the UK Singles chart. The 1990 re-issue of "Paint It Black" topped the Netherlands Single Top 100 and peaked at number 11 in Belgium.
Critical reception and legacy.
Initial reaction by music critics towards "Paint It Black" was mixed, with some stating that the addition of the sitar was merely the band copying the Beatles. In his book "Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones", Paul Trynka has noted that the influence of Harrison's sitar playing and the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood" on the "Rubber Soul" album, draws parallels with "Paint It Black" – most noticeably in Jones' droning sitar melody. In response to claims that he was merely imitating the Beatles, Jones stated: "What utter rubbish", comparing the argument to saying that all groups using a guitar copy each other merely by using the instrument. Jonathan Bellman, an American musicologist, concurs with Jones, writing in a 1997 issue of "The Journal of Musicology" that the events are an example of concurrent musical and instrumental experimentation. Jones' sitar part on the track became influential in developing a whole subgenre of minor-key psychedelic music.
Lindy Shannon of the La Crosse Tribune considered "Paint It Black", The Byrds' "Eight Miles High", and The Beatles' "Rain" as straying from the "commercial field" and instead "going into a sort of distorted area of unpleasant sounds." Other critics, like staff at "Melody Maker", praised the track, calling it "a glorious Indian raga-riot that will send the Stones back to number one". Writing for "Disc and Music Echo", Penny Valentine praised Jagger's singing, stating that it was "better than ever" but was critical of the track's sitar. In a review for "New Musical Express" (NME), Keith Altham considered "Paint It Black" to be the band's best single since "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" was released the previous year. A reviewer for "Billboard" predicted that "Aftermath" would become another hit for the Rolling Stones, citing "Paint It Black" as the focal point of the hard rock album and lauding Oldham for his production. "The Herald News" considered the song a "top record...for teeners", and were alongside "The Sunday Press" in calling it a "pulsating, blues-soaked romantic tearjerker". The "San Francisco Examiner" lauded the song for its "hypnotizing tone" and "same qualities of ambiguity and obscurity as some of the previous Stones hits."
In a retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic called the song an "eerily insistent" classic that features some of "the best use of sitar on a rock record". In another AllMusic review, Unterberger called it "perhaps the most effective use of the Indian instrument in a rock song". Writing for the 50th anniversary in 2016, Dave Swanson of "Ultimate Classic Rock" considered the song, like its parent album "Aftermath", to be a major turning point in artistic evolution for the band, writing: "'Paint It, Black' wasn't just another song by just another rock group; it was an explosion of ideas presented in one neat three-minute package." In 2017, when ranking "Aftermath" as one of the best albums of the 1960s, Judy Berman of "Pitchfork" described the song as "rock's most nihilistic hit to date". David Palmer similarly stated that the "attitude" songs on "Aftermath" – particularly "Paint It Black" – influenced the nihilistic outlook of punk music.
"Paint It Black" is considered to be the Rolling Stones' sixth greatest song by "Rolling Stone" and "Vulture", with the latter calling the song the band's "pre-1968 peak". "Rolling Stone" later ranked it number 176 on the magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2003. "NME" listed the song as the fourth greatest single of all time in 2002 and the 65th greatest song of all time in 2014. "Pitchfork" listed it as the 25th best song of the 1960s in 2006. According to Acclaimed Music, the track is the 115th most celebrated song in popular music. "Guitar Player" cited "Paint It Black" as originating the 1960s ragarock craze. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cover versions and usage in media.
American funk-rock band Eric Burdon and War released a cover of the song in 1970, which reached number 31 on the Dutch Top 40 singles chart. Irish rock band U2 included a cover of "Paint It Black" as the B-side to their 1992 single "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" and did so again with the 20th anniversary rerelease of their album "Achtung Baby" in 2011. The London Symphony Orchestra performed a cover of the song in their 1994 "Symphonic Music of the Rolling Stones" performance. American singer Tracy Lawrence covered "Paint It Black" for the compilation album "" in 1997. American singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton included a cover of the song on her 2002 debut album "Be Not Nobody", which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Canadian rock band Rush played one minute and ten seconds of the song during their 2003 performance at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto. American singer-songwriter Ciara recorded a cover version for the 2015 film, "The Last Witch Hunter".
The song has seen commercial use in film, video games and other entertainment mediums. "Paint It Black" plays during the end credits of the films "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) and "The Devil's Advocate" (1997). The song was a plot device in the supernatural horror film "Stir of Echoes" (1999). At the beginning of the film, the song is presented as a nursery rhyme, but the characters discover that the song was loudly played during the victim's murder to drown out her screams. "Paint It Black" was featured in the trailers for both the video game ' (2015) and the film "The Mummy" (2017). An orchestral arrangement of the song has been used in multiple episodes of the TV series "Westworld". The song has been featured in the soundtracks to multiple video games, including ' (2007), "Guitar Hero Live" (2015) and "Mafia III" (2016).
Track listings.
All songs written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
UK single
US single
Credits and personnel.
According to Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon's book "All the Songs". The authors add a question mark after Jones' guitar contribution and credit "tambourine, bongos, castanets" to "unidentified musicians".
Studio locations
Personnel
Additional Musicians