A haunting, dark, and ominous masterstroke with Indian,
Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences and lyrics
about grief and loss. The Stones at their mystical best.
It also hit the top spot in the US
and in several countries in Europe.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
The record came out just months before two other classics were
released, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and The Beatles’ Revolver.
It was their 4th British and 6th American studio LP,
It topped the UK charts and peaked at #2 in the USA
Aftermath was The Stones first LP with only original Jagger/Richards songs and several hits on it.
The album’s release was briefly delayed by controversy over the original packaging
idea and title – Could You Walk on the Water? – due to their label’s fear of offending Christians in the US with its allusion to Jesus walking on water.
Record Mirror Magazine wrote at the time: “Whether they realize it
or not – and I think Andrew Oldham does – the Rolling Stones have on
their hands the smash LP of the year with Aftermath.”
Singles/clips: Paint It Black / Lady Jane / Under My Thumb
The album had an immediate cross-generational impact and was associated with numerous touchstones of the era’s youth culture, such as fashion, drugs, mysticism,
and a sense of optimism and empowerment.
It topped nearly all album charts around the world.
Robert Smith: “It’s like an end to what we’ve been doing for the last 10 years.
This one is taking bits from everything we’ve done, all the bits that I’ve liked. But
there’s a single album’s worth of that and a single album’s worth of stuff we’ve
never really attempted before.”
No. 6 in the UK. No. 4 in Germany and Austria. No. 35 in the US.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes…
BLONDIE hit the top spot of the UK Singles Charts on 26 May 1979,
today 46 years ago with pop pearl Sunday Girl. It was part of their
splendid Parallel Lines LP.
The song was written by Chris Stein, inspired by Debbie Harry‘s cat, who was named Sunday Man. The cat had recently run away, inspiring the song’s “plaintive” nature.
THE ROLLING STONES topped the US Singles Chart with PAINT IT, BLACK 55 years today on 11 June 1966.
A haunting, dark, and ominous masterstroke. The Stones
at their very mystical best. It also hit the top spot in the UK
and several countries in Europe.
Today 52 years ago, on 11 June 1969, The Fab Four (in this case only Paul and John were involved) topped the UK Singles Chart with BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO. Actually one of my all-time favorite Lennon classics. It was the band’s 17th and final Numero Uno in their native country. The song tells the story of the eventful days of the marriage of the late genius and his muse Yoko Ono. It stills sounds brilliant.
Christ, you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re gonna crucify me…
