Release
"Brown Sugar" was eventually released in May 1971 as the first single from the album, becoming a #1 hit in the US and Canada and a #2 hit in the UK and has since become a classic rock radio staple. While the American single featured only "Bitch" as the B-side, the British single featured that track plus a live rendition of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock", recorded at the University of Leeds during the 1971 tour of the UK.
Little Richard covered the song while he was signed to Reprise Records.
The song was performed routinely during the Stones' 1970 European Tour, occupying a prominent spot near the end of the set list even though audiences were unfamiliar with it. It eventually opened the famed 1972 American Tour shows and has been a Stones concert stalwart since.
When the Stones perform "Brown Sugar" live, Jagger often changes the lyrics from, "Just like a young girl should", to, "Just like a young man should." The line, "Hear him whip the women just around midnight", is often changed to the less offensive, "You shoulda heard him just around midnight." This is evident in their live albums Love You Live, Flashpoint, Live Licks and Shine a Light. This change even occurs on the version recorded at Richards' birthday party.
The song is also notable for being the first single released on Rolling Stones Records (catalogue number RS-19100) and is one of the two Stones songs (along with "Wild Horses") licensed to both the band and former manager Allen Klein (a result of various business disagreements) resulting in its inclusion on the compilation album Hot Rocks 1964–1971. "Brown Sugar" is also included on the most significant latter-day Rolling Stones compilations, Jump Back, Forty Licks and GRRR!.
Read more about this topic: Brown Sugar (song)
Famous quotes containing the word release:
“The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise man sees in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“The steel decks rock with the lightning shock, and shake with the
great recoil,
And the sea grows red with the blood of the dead and reaches for his spoil—
But not till the foe has gone below or turns his prow and runs,
Shall the voice of peace bring sweet release to the men behind the
guns!”
—John Jerome Rooney (1866–1934)
“If I were to be taken hostage, I would not plead for release nor would I want my government to be blackmailed. I think certain government officials, industrialists and celebrated persons should make it clear they are prepared to be sacrificed if taken hostage. If that were done, what gain would there be for terrorists in taking hostages?”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)