"I Got the Blues" is a song from the Rolling Stones' 1971 album Sticky Fingers.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "I Got the Blues" is a slow-paced, ravished song. It features languid guitars with heavy influence of both blues and soul feel.
In his review, Richie Unterberger compares the Stones' take on their early influences, saying, "Musically, it's very much in the school of slow Stax ballads, by Redding and some others, with slow reverbed guitars with a gospel feel, dignified brass, and a slow buildup of tension." A notable reference point is the Otis Redding-ballad "I've Been Loving You Too Long", a song that the Stones themselves had recorded in 1965 and very similar in style and buildup.
Recorded during the months of March through May 1970, the song features Jagger on lead vocals, Richards and Mick Taylor on guitars, Bill Wyman on bass, Charlie Watts on drums, and Billy Preston on Hammond organ. Stones' recording veterans Bobby Keys and Jim Price performed on the saxophone and trumpet, respectively.
Famous quotes containing the word blues:
“Holly Golightly: You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of.”
—George Axelrod (b. 1922)