Paint It, Black

"Paint It Black" redirects here. For other uses, see Paint It Black (disambiguation).

"Paint It, Black"
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album Aftermath
B-side	"Stupid Girl" (US) "Long Long While" (UK)
Released	7 May 1966 (US) 13 May 1966 (UK)
Format	7"
Recorded	6–9 March 1966
Genre	Psychedelic rock, raga rock
Length	3:45 (mono single mix) 3:22 (stereo album mix)
Label	London 45-LON.901 (US) Decca F.12395 (UK)
Writer(s)	Jagger/Richards
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"19th Nervous Breakdown" (1966) "Paint It Black" (1966) "Mother's Little Helper/Lady Jane" (1966)
UK single cover Music sample "Paint It Black"

"Paint It, Black" is a song released by The Rolling Stones on 13 May 1966 as the first single from their fourth album Aftermath. It was originally titled "Paint It Black" without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca.

The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Brian Jones contributed to the song's signature riff. Bill Wyman claims in his books that the song was a collective effort of the group, a 'Nanker-Phelge' one, but mistakenly credited to Jagger/Richards at the end.

The single reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom charts in 1966. In 2004 it was ranked number 174 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the US and UK, it was the first number one single to feature a sitar on the recording.

History and composition

The song began with Wyman playing organ at a recording session, in parody of the group's former co-manager Eric Easton, who had been an organist. Charlie Watts accompanied the organ by playing a vaguely Middle Eastern drum part; Watts' drum pattern became the basis for the final song. Brian Jones contributed the song's signature sitar riff (having taught himself to play after a visit with George Harrison), and Jagger contributed to the lyrics, seemingly about a man mourning his dead girlfriend. More literally, it is about using the visual trick of painting everything black in the mind's eye. Both electric and acoustic guitars and the background vocals are provided by Richards. The piano is played by Jack Nitzsche.

The song is in chromatic-minor.

The bass was also overdubbed by Bill Wyman playing on the bass pedals of a Hammond B3 organ.

Chart performance

Chart (1966)	Peak position
Canada RPM Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	1
Irish Singles Chart	2
UK Singles Chart	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1
Chart (1990)	Peak position
Dutch Top 40	1

Personnel

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals
• Brian Jones – sitar
• Keith Richards – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Bill Wyman – bass pedals, organ
• Charlie Watts – drums
• Jack Nitzsche – piano

Eric Burdon & War version

"Paint It Black"
Single by Eric Burdon & War
from the album The Black Man's Burdon
B-side	"Nights in White Satin"
Released	1971
Format	7" single
Recorded	1970
Genre	Latin, psychedelic, R&B, funk
Length	4:04
Label	Liberty
Writer(s)	Jagger/Richards
Producer	Jerry Goldstein
Eric Burdon & War singles chronology
"Tobacco Road" (1970) "Paint It Black" (1971) "They Can't Take Away Our Music" (1971)

Before Eric Burdon & War's 1970 version reached the charts in Netherlands, Eric Burdon & The Animals covered it in 1967 for their debut album, Winds of Change; they also performed a 12:40 version on German TV in 1970. The original album version of Eric Burdon & War had a length of 13:41.

Eric Burdon & The Animals performed it at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. This version was cut and included in the motion picture of the festival. They performed it also on the BBC.

Eric Burdon performed it also on his "Hippiefest" tour in 2008.

Chart performance

Chart (1971)	Peak position
Dutch Top 40	31

Cover versions

• The Los Angeles-based rock band, The Standells covered Paint it Black on their album Dirty Water, released in 1966. This version replaces the line "With flowers and my love for never to come back" with another "I see a red door and I want it painted black".
• The alternative metal band Destrophy covered the song for their "Pray" EP and re-released it on their self-titled album.
• Deep Purple used the song as an instrumental introduction to Ian Paice's drum solo during their In Rock World Tour 1970
• The band WASP released their cover on the reissue of their debut album.
• The Feelies released a version on their 1980 Crazy Rhythms album .
• The Mo-dettes released a version on the Deram label in 1980 which reached number 42 in the UK singles chart.
• The melodic death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder on their EP A Cold-Blooded Epitaph.
• The musician Glenn Tipton played this song on his album Baptizm of Fire.
• The metalcore band The Agony Scene on their self-titled album.
• Punk band the Avengers released a cover of the song in 1983 first as the a-side of a single, then on their self-titled album.
• U2 released a cover of the song as a B-Side to the 1992 single "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses".
• Bahamian musician Exuma covered the song on his 1973 album Life
• Czech singer Karel Gott released an German version of the song in 1969 titled "Rot und schwarz" (Red and black)
• The band The Unseen covered this song on their album State of Discontent.
• The groove metal band Grip Inc. on their album Incorporated.
• The avant garde band The Residents, released a cover of the song for their 2000 album Dot.Com.
• Singer and Songwriter Vanessa Carlton, released a cover of the song on her 2002 debut album Be Not Nobody.
• Sister Sin released a cover on their first album Dance of the Wicked.
• Rock band Deadsy released a cover on their 2006 album Phantasmagore.
• VersaEmerge released a cover on the compilation album Punk Goes Classic Rock.
• Band of Susans released a cover on their 1992 Now EP.
• Siobhan Magnus sang the song on American Idol during the Rolling Stones theme week as well as on the live national tour.
• Punk band Last Laugh released a cover version on their album No Regrets.
• Canadian punk rock band Gob, released a cover of the song on their 1998 album How Far Shallow Takes You.
• The Reggae rock band The Dirty Heads released a cover of the song on their web site
• Canadian rock band, Rush, played an Instrumental cover version during the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto in 2003. Highlights of this benefit concert, including this cover, were later released by the Rolling Stones on the documentary, Toronto Rocks, in 2004.
• Ali Campbell covered the song on his 2010 album Great British Songs.
• British goth rockers Inkubus Sukkubus included the song on their 1997 album Vampyre Erotica.
• Canadian metal band Anvil have covered this song in their 1st album, Hard 'N' Heavy.
• Anti-Nowhere League play this song in concerts.
• American deathrock group Astrovamps included a cover of the song off of the album Amerikan Gothick.
• Industrial metal band Ministry released a cover of the song on their 2010 compilation album,Every Day Is Halloween: The Anthology.
• Indie bubblegum girl band Supercute! covered the song and filmed a music video for it in 2011.
• Marduk and Helloween have also covered the song.
• The Tea Party released a cover in 2000
• Ottmar Liebert recorded an instrumental flamenco version in 2001
• The band Firewater, covered the song in their cover-compilation album. 'Songs We Should Have Written' (2004). The version on the album contains sitar and other ethnic instruments.
• Flamin' Groovies covered this song on their 1978 album "Flamin' Groovies Now"
• Serbian singer Dragan Kojić Keba covered this song on his 1994 album Sve ću tuge poneti sa sobom.
• The Mighty Lemon Drops released a cover.

Other appearances

• It appeared in the closing credits for the movie Full Metal Jacket.
• This song was used in the opening credits for the CBS television series Tour of Duty.
• It also appeared in the closing credits for the movie The Devil's Advocate.
• This is the theme song for the videogame Twisted Metal: Black.
• This song was used in the movie Stir Of Echoes with Kevin Bacon. In the movie, Bacon's character hears the first few chords of it in a memory, but could not think of the song. It drives him crazy through most of the movie. Gob's version appeared in the soundtrack.
• The achievement "I Want To Paint It Black" for the game "Fruit Ninja Kinect" on the XBox 360 refers to this song.

External links

• "Paint It Black" on the official Rolling Stones website

Preceded by "Pretty Flamingo" by Manfred Mann	UK number-one single 26 May 1966	Succeeded by "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra
Preceded by "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single June 11, 1966	Succeeded by "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles
Preceded by "Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals	RPM Top 100 number-one single June 13, 1966	Succeeded by "Green Grass" by Gary Lewis
Preceded by "Sloop John B" by The Beach Boys	Dutch Top 40 number-one single May 28, 1966 (1966-05-28)	Succeeded by "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles
Preceded by "Kingston Town" by UB40	Dutch Top 40 number one single May 12, 1990 (1990-05-12)	Succeeded by "What's a Woman?" by Vaya Con Dios