| "Tell Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Rolling Stones | ||||
| B-side | "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Willie Dixon) | |||
| Released | 13 June 1964 (US) | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | February 1964 | |||
| Genre | Beat | |||
| Length | 4:05 | |||
| Label | London 45-LON 9682 | |||
| Writer(s) | Jagger/Richards | |||
| Producer | Andrew Loog Oldham | |||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||
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"Tell Me (You're Coming Back)" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1964 self-titled album (US title: England's Newest Hit Makers). It was later released as single A-side in the USA only, becoming the first Jagger/Richards song that the band released as a single A-side. The single reached #24 in the US and #1 in Sweden. It was not released as a single in the UK.
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Written by singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, "Tell Me" is a pop ballad. Richie Unterberger said in his review of the song, "It should be pointed out ... that the Rolling Stones, even in 1964, were more versatile and open toward non-blues-rooted music than is often acknowledged by critics." The Rolling Stones' two previous singles bear out this observation: one had been the Lennon/McCartney-penned "I Wanna Be Your Man" (later recorded by The Beatles as well); another was Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away".
Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone magazine: "['Tell Me'] is very different from doing those R&B covers or Marvin Gaye covers and all that. There's a definite feel about it. It's a very pop song, as opposed to all the blues songs and the Motown covers, which everyone did at the time."[1]
The song's lyrics are a glimpse of a failed relationship and the singer's attempt to win back the girl's love:
| “ | I want you back
again; I want your love again; I know you find it hard to reason with me – |
” |
Regarding the lyrics, Unterberger says, "When [Jagger and Richards] began to write songs, they were usually not derived from the blues, but were often surprisingly fey, slow, Mersey-type pop numbers... 'Tell Me' was quite acoustic-based, with a sad, almost dispirited air. After quiet lines about the end of the love affair, the tempo and melody both brighten..."
"Tell Me" was recorded in London in February 1964; versions both with and without Ian Stewart's piano were cut.[2][3] Jagger said: "Keith was playing 12-string and singing harmonies into the same microphone as the 12-string. We recorded it in this tiny studio in the West End of London called Regent Sound, which was a demo studio. I think the whole of that album was recorded in there."[1]
Richards said in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, "'Tell Me'... was a dub. Half those records were dubs on that first album, that Mick and I and Charlie and I'd put a bass on or maybe Bill was there and he'd put a bass on. 'Let's put it down while we remember it,' and the next thing we know is, 'Oh look, track 8 is that dub we did a couple months ago.' That's how little control we had."[4]
Early pressings of the UK release of the debut album mistakenly included the piano-less version of "Tell Me"; all subsequent releases have featured the version with piano.[3]
In June 1964 "Tell Me" was released as a single in the USA only. It peaked at # 24 for two weeks, and lasting in the Billboard Hot 100 for a total of 10 weeks. The B-side was a cover of the Willie Dixon song "I Just Wanna Make Love to You". The Rolling Stones performed the song in concert in 1964 and 1965.[2]
"Tell Me" has been re-released on the compilations Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) and Singles Collection: The London Years.
The song was used in Martin Scorsese´s film Mean Streets (1973).
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   | Complete Official Lyrics - RollingStones.com music.discography |
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