Paint It Black

Paint It Black (also Paint It, Black) is a song written by The Rolling Stones in 1966. It reached Number 1 in both the US and the UK charts. It was released as a single and on the album Aftermath (U.S. version).

Related Topics:
The Rolling Stones - 1966 - US - UK - Aftermath

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As usual, the song was credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, although all of the bandmembers contributed substantially to it, especially Bill Wyman.

Related Topics:
Mick Jagger - Keith Richards - Bill Wyman

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Jagger's and Richards' original conception of the song was that of a slow soul song from the viewpoint of a person who is depressed. He wants everything to turn black to match his mood.

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Wyman began fooling around on the organ during the session doing a takeoff of their original as a spoof of music played at Jewish weddings. Co-manager Eric Easton (who had been an organist), and Charlie Watts joined in and improvised a double-time drum pattern, echoing the rhythm heard in some Middle Eastern dances. This new, more upbeat rhythm was then used in the recording as a counterpoint to the morbid lyrics. Brian Jones added the guide-line on the sitar. It was the first time he used this instrument on a record. (Brian Jones learned the sitar at nearly the same time as George Harrison of the Beatles did, but Harrison used it earlier in 1965 on Rubber Soul recording Norwegian Wood.)

Related Topics:
Charlie Watts - Brian Jones - George Harrison - Beatles - 1965 - Rubber Soul

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Without the contribution of their bandmates, Jagger's and Richards' original would have been a much slower, more conventional song without any exotic features.

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The song had a comma in the title on some releases (thus being read as Paint It, Black), leading some to accuse the Stones of racism. Keith Richards remarked that the comma was inserted by Decca, their label.

Related Topics:
Comma - Racism - Decca

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The song has become associated with the Vietnam War due to its use in the ending credits of Full Metal Jacket and the opening credits of Tour of Duty. It was also used in the ending credits of the Devil's Advocate movie.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - Full Metal Jacket - Tour of Duty - Devil's Advocate movie

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"Paint It Black" was used as the opening track in the Playstation 2 game Twisted Metal: Black (part of the Twisted Metal series), perhaps to establish the depressing mood the game strives for.

Related Topics:
Playstation 2 - Twisted Metal

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It has also been covered by many different bands and music artists up through the ages including (but not limited to); Judas Priest, Gob, The Vines, The Black Dahlia Murder, Kalan Porter, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon and War, U2 and Vanessa Carlton.

Related Topics:
Judas Priest - Gob - The Vines - The Black Dahlia Murder - Kalan Porter - Deep Purple - Led Zeppelin - U2 - Vanessa Carlton

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