"Ruby Tuesday" is a song by the 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 Wale ...

band

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

, released in January 1967. The song became the band's fourth number-one hit in the United States and reached number three in the United Kingdom as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

with " Let's Spend the Night Together". The song was included in the American version of ''

Between the Buttons Between is a preposition. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Between (Frankmusik album), ''Between'' (Frankmusik album), a 2013 album by Frankmusik * "Between", a song by Jerry Cantrell from ''Boggy Depot'' * Between (TV series), ''Bet ...

'' (in the UK, singles were often excluded from studio albums). ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine ranked the song number 310 on their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Composition and recording

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

recorded "Ruby Tuesday" around November 1966 at

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...

, during the sessions for their album ''

''. The song was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham.

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

plays a countermelody on an alto recorder, while the

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

was played jointly by bassist

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

and guitarist

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

; Wyman did the fingerings while Richards bowed the instrument. Richards explained that the lyrics are about

Linda Keith Linda Keith (born 1946) is a former British fashion model, best known for her work for ''Vogue (British magazine), Vogue'' magazine during the 1960s as well as her involvement in the rock music scene during the Swinging Sixties. Early life Linda ...

, his girlfriend in the mid-1960s: "That's a wonderful song,"

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

told

Jann Wenner Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American businessman who co-founded the popular culture magazine ''Rolling Stone'' with Ralph J. Gleason and is the former owner of '' Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free S ...

in 1995. "It's just a nice melody, really. And a lovely lyric. Neither of which I wrote, but I always enjoy singing it." Wyman states in ''Rolling with the Stones'' that the lyrics were completely written by Richards with help from Jones on the musical composition. However,

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

recalls it differently; according to her, Jones presented an early version of this melody to the rest of the Rolling Stones. According to Victor Bockris, Richards came up with the basic track and the words and finished the song with Jones in the studio. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the single as a "smooth ballad a la baroque."

Release

"Ruby Tuesday" was released as the B-side to "Let's Spend the Night Together" in January 1967. Due to the controversial nature of the A-side's lyrics, "Ruby Tuesday" earned more airplay and ended up charting higher in the US. The song topped the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, while reaching number three in the UK's

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...

chart, which listed "Let's Spend The Night Together"/"Ruby Tuesday" as a

. "Ruby Tuesday" was included on the US version of the 1967 album ''

'', while being left out of the British edition, as was common practice with singles in the UK at that time. That summer, the song appeared on the US compilation album ''

Flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

''. Due to its success, the song became a staple of the band's compilations, being included on '' Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)'' (1969), '' Hot Rocks 1964–1971'' (1971), '' Rolled Gold'' (1975), and ''30 Greatest Hits'' (1977), and, in mono, on '' Singles Collection: The London Years'' (1989).

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, except where noted: The Rolling Stones *

vocals, tambourine *

acoustic guitar,

(

bowing Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and Human head, head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many E ...

) *

alto recorder, backing vocals, piano *

double bass ( fingering), bass guitar *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a Graphic designer, graphic artist, Watts developed an interest i ...

drums Additional musician *

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, a ...

piano

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Live version

"Ruby Tuesday" was first played live on Brian Jones' last concert tour The Rolling Stones European Tour 1967. The next time was on the

Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg ...

in 1989/1990. A concert rendition from this tour was featured on the band's 1991 live album '' Flashpoint'' and released as a single. This live version was recorded in Japan in 1990 and can be seen on the video release '' Live at the Tokyo Dome''. The B-side was " Play with Fire (live)" recorded in 1989 but not included on the ''Flashpoint'' album. A July 2013 live performance is featured on ''Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live''.

Melanie version

American folk and pop singer

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Candles in the Rain''. Her version was released as a single in the UK, where it became a Top Ten hit that year. It also reached number seven in New Zealand. She recorded a second cover version for her 1978 album '' Ballroom Streets''.

Other versions

*1968: Rotary Connection, with singer

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single " Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register. Born in 1947, Riperton grew ...

, released a cover of the song on their debut album '' Rotary Connection''. *1969: Oliver released a version of the song on his album '' Good Morning Starshine''. *1989:

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician, photographer, author, and philanthropist. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia; Julian is named after his pate ...

released a version of the song on the compilation album entitled '' The Wonder Years: Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show & Its Era'', a soundtrack for ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

'' TV series. *1993:

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

recorded a version for his 1993 compilation album, ''

Lead Vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

'', and released it as a single through

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

on 8 February 1993. His cover reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Across the rest of Europe, the song entered the top 40 in Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands. In Denmark, it became a top-10 hit, reaching number seven.

Restaurant chain

Samuel E. Beall III used the title of the song when he started his restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday. The name was suggested by one of several fraternity brothers who were co-investors.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby Tuesday 1960s ballads 1967 singles Baroque pop songs Double A-side singles Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Andrew Loog Oldham The Rolling Stones songs Buddah Records singles Decca Records singles London Records singles Rolling Stones Records singles Oliver (singer) songs Melanie (singer) songs Scorpions (band) songs Julian Lennon songs Rod Stewart songs Marianne Faithfull songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany 1967 songs Pop ballads Soul ballads Psychedelic soul songs British soul songs