Jumpin' Jack Flash
| "Jumpin' Jack Flash" | ||||
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| Single by The Rolling Stones | ||||
| B-side | "Child of the Moon" | |||
| Released | 24 May 1968 (UK) 1 June 1968 (US) |
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| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | March/April 1968 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Decca F.12782 (UK) London 45.908 (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Jagger/Richards | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Miller | |||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||
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"Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, released as a single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by Rolling Stone,[1] the song was perceived by some as the band's return to their blues roots after the psychedelia of their preceding albums Between the Buttons and Their Satanic Majesties Request.[2] One of the group's most popular and recognizable songs, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" has been featured in many films and on the Rolling Stones compilation albums Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), Hot Rocks, Singles Collection and Forty Licks .
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Inspiration and recording
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, recording on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" began during the Beggars Banquet sessions of 1968 (although it was not released on that album). Regarding the song's distinctive sound, guitarist Richards has said:
| “ | I used a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic tuned to open D, six string. Open D or open E, which is the same thing - same intervals - but it would be slackened down some for D. Then there was a capo on it, to get that really tight sound. And there was another guitar over the top of that, but tuned to Nashville tuning. I learned that from somebody in George Jones' band in San Antonio in 1964. The high-strung guitar was an acoustic, too. Both acoustics were put through a Philips cassette recorder. Just jam the mic right in the guitar and play it back through an extension speaker.[3] | ” |
Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack."[4] The rest of the lyrics evolved from there.[3][5]
Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone that the song arose "...out of all the acid of Satanic Majesties... It's about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things."[6] In his autobiography, Stone Alone, Bill Wyman has claimed that he came up with the song's distinctive main guitar riff on an organ without being credited for it.[3]
On the studio version of the number, Richards played the bass and floor tom as well as acoustic and electric guitar. Jagger provided the lead vocals and maracas, Brian Jones played electric guitar (though some sources list his contribution as acoustic guitar or tambura), Charlie Watts was on drums and Bill Wyman was on organ. Either Nicky Hopkins or Ian Stewart contributed piano, and producer Jimmy Miller joined in on the backing vocals.
Release and aftermath
Released on 24 May 1968, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (backed with "Child of the Moon") reached the top of the UK charts and peaked at number three in the United States. Some early London Records USA pressings of the single had a technical flaw in them: about halfway through the song's instrumental bridge, the speed of the master tape slows down for a moment, then comes back to speed. The first Rolling Stones album on which the song appeared was their 1969 compilation album, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), one year after the single was released.
The Rolling Stones have played "Jumpin' Jack Flash" during every tour since its release; it ranks as the number the band has played in concert most frequently,[7][8] and has appeared on the concert albums Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, Love You Live, Flashpoint, The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (featuring the only released live performance of the song with Brian Jones, though he is inaudible in the released mix), and Shine a Light. The intro is not usually played in concert; instead the song begins with the main riff. The open E or open D tuning of the rhythm guitar on the studio recording has also not been replicated in concert (with the possible exception of the 1968 NME awards show, no recording of which has ever surfaced). In the performance filmed for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December 1968, Richards used standard tuning; and ever since the band's appearance at Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, he has played it in open G tuning with a capo on the fourth fret.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Jumpin' Jack Flash" at number 2 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2004, Rolling Stone rated the song 124th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. VH1 placed it at 65 on its show 100 Greatest Rock Songs.[9]
Legacy
Use in film
In 1986, the song's title was used for the Whoopi Goldberg film Jumpin' Jack Flash. In addition to the Rolling Stones' version of the song, the film features Aretha Franklin's cover version, which was produced by Keith Richards. Ronnie Wood and Richards play guitar on the recording.
The song was also featured in Martin Scorsese's film Mean Streets (1973), in Ron Howard's Night Shift and at the end of Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In 2009, the song was included (anachronistically) in the film The Boat That Rocked.
Notable cover versions
A number of other artists have also performed and recorded versions of the song.
- Leon Russell performed a cover at The Concert for Bangladesh.
- Tina Turner included her version of the song in her 2008-2009 Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour setlist, alongside another Rolling Stones song, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)". She had previously performed this medley during her 1982 tour.
- Peter Frampton released a version of the song on his first studio album, Wind of Change, and also on his 1976 live album, Frampton Comes Alive!
- Johnny Winter covered the number on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1974; the performance circulates as a bootleg recording. An earlier performance is captured on his 1971 album, Live Johnny Winter and.
- Motörhead covered the song during the recording sessions for the We Are Motörhead album; this rendition appeared on the 2001 re-release of their earlier album Bastards.
- Guns N' Roses made demo recordings of the song in 1987; these demo versions appear on the Welcome to the Sessions bootleg album.
- Shed Seven released a live cover version of the song as a b-side to their "On Standby" single,[10] released in August 1996, and in a limited-edition issue of their singles compilation, Going For Gold, in May 1999.
- A cover of the song was featured as the final level in the Nintendo DS video game Elite Beat Agents.
- Ananda Shankar used original Indian classical material alongside sitar-based cover versions of "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
- Phish performed a cover during the second set of their show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on June 27, 2010.
- David Cook did a version of this song on the ninth season of American Idol, on March 17, 2010, during eliminations. This song was later made available on iTunes for download.
- Cinderella featured a live version of the song on the b-side of their "Gypsy Road" single.
Notes and references
- ↑ "Jumpin' Jack Flash". Rolling Stone. 4 December 2007. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595969/jumpin_jack_flash.
- ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Jumpin' Jack Flash". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:3bftxx9sldje. Retrieved 2006-06-16.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 McPherson, Ian. "Track Talk: Jumpin' Jack Flash". http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOJumpin.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
- ↑ A jumping jack is an old-fashioned toy - see Jumping jack (toy).
- ↑ The Rolling Stones. (2003). Four Flicks. [DVD]. Warner Music Vision.
- ↑ Wenner, Jann S. (14 December 1995-12-14). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/2/ "Jagger Remembers: Mick's most comprehensive interview ever"]. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/mick_jagger_remembers/page/2/.
- ↑ Galbraith, Gary. "The Rocks Off Rolling Stones Setlists Page". http://rocksoff.org/gazzassetlists.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ↑ Zentgraf, Nico. "The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones 1962-2008". http://www.nzentgraf.de/books/tcw/works1.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ↑ "100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll (80-61)". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62158/episode_about.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ↑ "Shed Seven - On Standby". discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Shed-Seven-On-Standby/release/1344333. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
External links
| Preceded by "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap |
UK number one single 19 June 1968 for 2 weeks |
Succeeded by "Baby Come Back" by The Equals |
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