All Down the Line

"All Down the Line"
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album Exile on Main St.
A-side "Happy"
Released 15 July 1972
Recorded December 1971 - March 1972
Genre Rock
Length 3:49
Label Rolling Stones/Virgin
Writer(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller
Exile on Main St. track listing

"All Down the Line" is a song by rock band The Rolling Stones featured on their 1972 album Exile on Main St.. Although at one point slated to be the lead single from the album,[1] it was ultimately released as a single as the b-side of "Happy."

Background

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "All Down the Line" is a straight ahead electric rock song which opens side four of Exile on Main St.. An acoustic version of the song was recorded in 1969 during the early sessions of what would become Sticky Fingers.[2] Recording took place at Olympic Sound Studios in London and Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles.

Featured on the recording are Jagger on lead vocals and backing vocals with Richards and Kathi McDonald. Bill Wyman performs electric bass while Bill Plummer performs acoustic standup bass. Mick Taylor performs the electric slide guitar while Richards performs electric rhythm guitar. With Charlie Watts on drums, producer Jimmy Miller performs maracas. Bobby Keys and Jim Price lend support on saxophone and trumpet and trombone, respectively.[3] Nicky Hopkins performs on piano.

The Rolling Stones famously gave a Los Angeles radio station a demo of "All Down the Line" to play while they drove around and listened to it on the radio,[3][1] but "All Down the Line"'s biggest claim to fame may be its near constant appearance on the Rolling Stones' tours since the release of Exile.

After the release of Exile on Main St., Allen Klein sued the Rolling Stones for breach of settlement because "All Down the Line" and four other songs on the album were composed while Jagger and Richards were under contract with his company, ABKCO. ABKCO acquired publishing rights to the songs, giving it a share of the royalties from Exile on Main St., and was able to publish another album of previously released Rolling Stones songs, More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies).[4]

Concert performances

The song has appeared on a number of tours throughout the 1970s, early 1980s, and every tour since Voodoo Lounge Tour.

A 2006 performance of "All Down the Line" was captured on the live album Shine a Light. Despite its popularity as a live song, this is its first appearance on an official live album. A live version from 1995 appeared as a B-side of the "Like a Rolling Stone" (Live) single from the Stripped album. However, a live performance had previously been included in the 1972 film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "100 Greatest Rolling Stones Songs". Rolling Stone Magazine]]. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  2. Hector, J. (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of the Rolling Stones. Omnibus Press. p. 86. ISBN 0711943036.
  3. 1 2 Appleford, S. (2000). Rip This Joint. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 1560252812.
  4. Goodman, Fred (2015). Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 235–236. ISBN 978-0-547-89686-1.
  5. "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-11-22.

External links

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