"Shine a Light" is a song released by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

on their 1972 album '' Exile on Main St.'' about founding band member

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

and was subsequently reworked and released after his 1969 death.

Background

Although credited to

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and Stones guitarist

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, as is customary with any song they write jointly or not, it is entirely a Mick Jagger composition. Jagger's earliest versions were from 1968 before Jones was expelled from the Stones due to his inability to tour. A version of the song, under the title "(Can't Seem To) Get a Line on You," was made by Leon Russell at Olympic Studios in October 1969 with assistance from Jagger (lead vocals), Charlie Watts (drums), Leon Russell (piano), and probably also Bill Wyman (bass) and

(guitar). The recording was made during the recording sessions for the album '' Leon Russell'' (released 1970), where Watts and Wyman contributed drums and bass to some of the tracks. However, the song was shelved until 1993, when it finally surfaced as a bonus track on the 24K gold re-release by DCC Compact Classics (DCC Compact Classics GZS 1049). After Jones's death in 1969, the song resurfaced. Following revisions by Jagger, it was recorded again in July 1970 as "Shine a Light". A third recording at London's

Olympic Sound Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

in December 1971 resulted in the final version of the song released on ''Exile on Main St''. This final version featured Jagger on vocals, Stones producer Jimmy Miller on drums instead of Watts, and

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on: ''Let It Bleed'' ...

on electric guitar and bass guitar. According to Wyman, he played bass on the song and Taylor was erroneously credited with playing bass, having pointed out the error via an advance copy of the album. He also says that he played bass on more tracks than was specified in the album's credits and that Jagger had gotten the credits wrong. Also performing on the song are back-up singers

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1 ...

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble Pi ...

and Jesse Kirkland. Billy Preston performs both piano and organ for the recording and had a distinct influence on Jagger and the song while mixing the album at Los Angeles' Sunset Sound Studios. Jagger claims visits to Preston's local church inspired the gospel influences apparent on the final recording while Richards was absent from these sessions. An alternative version without the backing singers and with a different guitar solo by Mick Taylor was released on bootlegs.

Legal problems

After the release of ''Exile on Main St.'',

Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits ...

sued the Rolling Stones for breach of settlement because "Shine a Light" and four other songs on the album were composed while Jagger and Richards were under contract with his company,

ABKCO ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the A ...

. ABKCO acquired publishing rights to the songs, giving it a share of the royalties from ''Exile on Main St.'', and was able to publish another album of previously released Rolling Stones songs, ''

More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) ''More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)'' is a compilation album by the Rolling Stones released in December 1972 on London Records. The album was a follow-up to the hugely successful '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971''. When '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971 ...

''.

Live

"Shine a Light" first entered the Stones' setlist during the 1995 leg of the

Voodoo Lounge Tour The Voodoo Lounge Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones to promote their 1994 album '' Voodoo Lounge''. This was their first tour without bassist Bill Wyman, and their first with touring bassist Darryl Jones, as an addition ...

, and live performances of the song from this period were included on the 1995 album ''

Stripped Stripped may refer to: Music * "Stripped" (song), by Depeche Mode, 1986 * ''Stripped'' (Christina Aguilera album) or the title song, 2002 * ''Stripped'' (Daniel Ash album), 2014 * ''Stripped'' (Macy Gray album), 2016 * ''Stripped'' (Pretty Ma ...

'' and its 2016 edition ''Totally Stripped''. The Stones played the song occasionally during their Bridges to Babylon Tour (1997–98) and

A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album '' A Bigger Bang''. At the time, it was the highest grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,52 ...

(2005-07). The song gave its name to a 2008

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

film chronicling the Stones' Beacon Theatre performances on the latter tour, and the 29 October 2006 performance is included on the soundtrack album.

Legacy

The song's vocal melody was an influence on Oasis's song " Live Forever", released in 1994. The song has been covered multiple times in concert by Phish, the first time on 31 October 2009 when the band covered the entirety of ''Exile on Main Street'' as part of its musical costume. Elton John also performed the song live for 'Peace One Day' on 21 September 2012, and is a well-known Stones fan. The song was also featured in the 3rd episode season 6 of ''Californication'' "Dead Rockstars" performed by Tim Minchin (aka Atticus Fetch in the series) The song is played in its entirety beginning in the last scenes and through the credits in ‘Ray Donovan, the Movie. It is also played during the credits of the Prime Video series, "Daisy Jones and the Six, released in 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shine A Light (Song) The Rolling Stones songs 1972 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller