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 ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
and Stones 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 ...
, 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
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 ...
in October 1969 with assistance from Jagger (lead vocals),
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), Leon Russell (piano), and probably also
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 ...
(bass) and
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 ...
(guitar). The recording was made during the recording sessions for the album ''
Leon Russell
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...
'' (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 British independent recording studio based on Church Road, 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 Hendrix, th ...
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 & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...
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 defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...
,
Venetta Fields
Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach.
Fields was a backing vocalist for touring American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as working as a ...
and Jesse Kirkland.
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...
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
Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard.
Background
The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...
. 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.
Reception
''Classic Rock History'' critic Matthew Pollard rated "Shine a Light" as the Rolling Stones' 2nd best deep cut, saying that "it rings properly like any traditional gospel composition but with a creamy additive of the Stones’ attitude" and that it is "a fitting tribute and farewell to ones"
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 pr ...
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 an 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 Animal ...
. 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)''.
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 additional ...
, and live performances of the song from this period were included on the 1995 album '' Stripped'' and its 2016 edition ''Totally Stripped''. The Stones played the song occasionally during their
Bridges to Babylon Tour
The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones. Staged in support of their album '' Bridges to Babylon'', the tour visited stadiums from 1997 to 1998. It grossed over $274 million, becoming the second-highest-g ...
(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 November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
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
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentLive Forever", released in 1994. The song has been covered multiple times in concert by
Phish
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...
, 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
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
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
Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter.
Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...
(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.