4 Songs From the 1960s That Show the Melodic Side of The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones made their reputation by parlaying their blues influences into a rock sound that possessed a harder edge than the beat music of other British groups. But they also paid attention to melody more than people realize.

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These four songs display just how tuneful the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards could be. Check out these melodic marvels.

“As Tears Go By”

When Jagger and Richards started to see just how lucrative the songwriting part of the equation was for John Lennon and Paul McCartney, they wanted to get in on that action. And not just by writing for The Stones. The Glimmer Twins realized that penning pop songs for others could offer some nice secondary income. They wrote “As Tears Go By” for Marianne Faithfull to perform. And she scored a solid hit with it in Great Britain. The Stones then recorded their own version, basing it very much on what The Beatles had done with “Yesterday”. One wonders if they ever would have written it knowing it was going to be a Stones song at some point.

“Ruby Tuesday”

Like just about everybody else, The Stones briefly fell under the sway of the baroque pop craze that was sweeping pop music in the mid-60s. And it was understandable that they went that way. It made sense from a commercial standpoint. They also proved really adept at it, in part because they had a secret weapon in Brian Jones. While Jones was a blues purist at heart, his ability to play multiple instruments allowed The Stones to add those surprising melodic flourishes. In the case of “Ruby Tuesday”, he did it by playing the recorder to supplement the lovely curves of the melody composed by Keith Richards.

“Dandelion”

Here’s a song that many casual Stones fans might not recall. “Dandelion” was released as a B-side to “We Love You”, making it quite the psychedelic double whammy. One listen to the song might make you wonder why the band didn’t choose to put this one in the spotlight. The dominant instrumental part is a harpsichord played by Nicky Hopkins (more of him to come elsewhere in this list). Mick Jagger caresses a sing-song melody in verses that open up into a chorus where the minor keys make everything sound a little more urgent. None other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney provide the oohs and aahs in the backing vocals.

“She’s A Rainbow”

Most everyone, including The Rolling Stones themselves, will tell you that Their Satanic Majesties Request was a misfire. They had already proven many times over they could do baroque and psychedelic. The problem that arose was that the making of the album was a bit too chaotic for anyone to focus. But you could hear glimpses in certain songs of what that LP could have been if everyone’s head had been in the game. “She’s A Rainbow” is a gloriously tuneful track. Once again, Nicky Hopkins’ contributions are crucial. His piano work trips merrily along amidst the playful backing vocals and Mick Jagger’s testimonial words about an ethereal charmer of a girl.

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