Rolling Stones – Paint It Black

London Records released the song as a single on 7 May 1966 in the United States; Decca Records released it on 13 May in the United Kingdom. London Records included it as the opening track on the American version of the band’s 1966 studio album Aftermath.

On this track, Stones guitarist Brian Jones played the sitar, which was introduced to pop music by The Beatles on their 1965 song Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown). Jones made good television by balancing the instrument on his lap during appearances.

Brian Jones had a lot of input into this song, but was left off the songwriting credits (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the credited writers). Jones did the arrangements for “Paint It Black” and many other songs around this time, but according to Keith Richards, he never presented a finished song to the group, which kept him off the credits.

The Stones former manager Allen Klein owned the publishing rights to this song. In 1965, The Stones hired him and signed a deal they would later regret. With Klein controlling their money, The Stones signed over the publishing rights to all the songs they wrote up to 1969. Every time this is used in a commercial or TV show, Klein’s estate (he died in 2009) gets paid.

“Paint It Black” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 213 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2011, the song was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of “The Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”.

The Rolling Stones (original recording)
Mick Jagger – lead and harmony vocals; writer
Keith Richards – harmony vocal; lead and acoustic guitars; writer
Brian Jones – sitar, acoustic guitar
Bill Wyman – bass, Hammond organ, maracas, cowbell
Charlie Watts – drums, tambourine, castanets

Additional musicians and production
Jack Nitzsche – piano
Dave Hassinger – sound engineer
Andrew Loog Oldham – producer

“Paint It Black” – Single by the Rolling Stones from the album Aftermath (US release)
Released 7 May 1966 (US) and 13 May 1966 (UK)
Songwriters Jagger–Richards
Producer Andrew Loog Oldham
Charted No.1 US; No.1 UK; No.1 Netherlands; No.1 Canada; No.3 Belgium; No.2 West Germany; No.2 Ireland; No.2 Sweden