Should I Stay Or Should I Go (Mack 10 Song)
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"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band
the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
from their fifth studio album ''
Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash, released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the U ...
'', written in 1981 and featuring Mick Jones on lead vocals. It was released in 1982 as a
double A-sided 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 ...
single alongside " Straight to Hell", performing modestly on global music charts. In the United States, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 without reaching the top 40. The song received greater attention nearly a decade later as the result of an early-1990s
Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...
jeans commercial, leading to the song's 1991 re-release, which topped the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in New Zealand and many European charts. The song was listed in ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.


Background and production

Though the composition was credited to the Clash, Mick Jones was its principal songwriter. Its melody and chord structure shared resemblance with " Little Latin Lupe Lu", which was written by
Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...
in 1962 and provided a hit for his act
the Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...
the following year, as well as for
the Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s American rock band from Portland, Oregon. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the ''Billboard'' charts for six weeks and has bec ...
in 1964 and
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels William Sherille Levise Jr. (born February 26, 1945), known professionally as Mitch Ryder, is an American rock singer who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder was born on February 26, 1945, in Hamtramck, M ...
in 1966. Rumours have arisen about the song's lyrical content, such as Jones' impending dismissal from the Clash or the tempestuous personal relationship between Jones and American singer and actress
Ellen Foley Ellen Foley (born June 5, 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the hit NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' during its second season. In music, she has released five solo albums, bu ...
. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was thought to be written by Jones about Foley, who sang the backing vocals on
Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...
's debut studio album ''
Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the debut studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from the musical ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' Peter Pan'' which Steinman wrote for a worksho ...
'' (1977). However, in 1991, Jones said:
It wasn't about anybody specific and it wasn't pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rockin' song, our attempt at writing a classic... When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play.
The Spanish backing vocals were sung by
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
and
Joe Ely Joe Ely (; born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was "one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas' progressive country scene in the 1970s and '80s. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce ...
. In 1991, Strummer said:
On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish'...We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's
Ecuadorian Spanish Spanish is the most-widely spoken language in Ecuador, though great variations are present depending on several factors, the most important one being the geographical region where it is spoken. The three main regional variants are: * Equatori ...
that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals.


Releases

The song had various single releases. In North America, the American record label
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
released one edition with "Inoculated City" as its B-side in May 1982. Another edition by Epic with "First Night Back in London" as its B-side, released in July 1982, peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on the week ending 18 September 1982, the edition's tenth week on the chart. Another edition by Epic with "Cool Confusion" as its B-side, released in February 1983, peaked at number 50 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Elsewhere, the international record label
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...
released the song in September 1982 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 " Straight to Hell". The double A-side release peaked at number 17 on the UK Single Chart for the week ending 17 October 1982, the release's fifth week on the chart. Historically, the band rejected companies' requests to use their songs to advertise products, like
Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s by the American pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper in t ...
and
British Telecom BT Group plc (formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-li ...
. Then in the early 1990s, the company Levi's asked the band members' permission to use the song for a jeans commercial for the British audience. Despite the band often prioritising "creativity and idealism over commercial exploitation", the band members left the decision to the main songwriter Mick Jones, who approved the permission, rationalising that Levi's jeans had been part of the
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
culture rather than something to "object on moral grounds". The song was played for the Levi's commercial and then reissued on 18 February 1991 as a single, a decade after its original release, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Chart. In that same year, Jones told ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' journalist
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
that he included
Big Audio Dynamite II Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...
's " Rush" in the single re-release to promote his newer band. A live recording of the song was included on the album ''
Live at Shea Stadium ''Live at Shea Stadium'' is a live album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was recorded at Shea Stadium in New York City on 13 October 1982, the band's second night opening for The Who; the concert was produced by Kosmo Vinyl. The albu ...
'', which featured a concert performed on 13 October 1982 in New York City. The song's music video from that performance was included on the DVD '' The Clash Live: Revolution Rock''. Both discs were released on 6 October 2008.


Critical reception

''NME'' journalist Adrian Thrills in 1982 gave the double A-side single release "Straight to Hell"/"Should I Stay or Should I Go" four-and-a-half stars out of five. Despite "Should I Stay or Should I Go" having received more radio airplay, Thrills stated that the single's other A-side track " Straight to Hell" was "the reaffirmation that there is still life in The Clash." In November 2004, the song was ranked number 228 on "
Rolling Stone's 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 ...
". In 2009 it was ranked 42nd on VH1's program ''100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs''. Scholar Theodore Gracyk wrote in 2007 that the song "is not sovertly political" as most of the band's other songs, especially from the album ''Combat Rock'', which carries the song. Gracyk also wrote that new listeners familiar with and praising the song and then wanting to buy ''Combat Rock'' or one of compilation albums containing the song would be surprised by the band's "strong critique of dominant Western values." ''Vulture'' writer Bill Wyman in 2017 ranked the song number 19 of all the band's 139 songs.


Music video

The video for the song was made by
Don Letts Donovan Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Au ...
, the video consists of the band's USA tour with images of their visit to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where the band were filmed driving to a gig in an open-topped Cadillac for the city, at the concert featured Joe Strummer in sunglasses and a
Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...
hat and Mick Jones in a red jumpsuit and beret. The concert was at
Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
.


Opening riff similarity

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
users accused
One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...
's 2012 hit single "
Live While We're Young "Live While We're Young" is a song by English-Irish boy band One Direction, released as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Take Me Home'' (2012). Written by Savan Kotecha and its producers, Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk, the numbe ...
" of copying the song's opening guitar
riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
. According to
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''The Guardian'', the guitar is played twice between the riff with the
plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...
stroking the strings, while it is pressed. One note in the chord is changed, which Petridis surmised was probably to avoid paying any royalty to the Clash.


Charts


Original release


Reissue


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

*
List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1990s The UK Singles Chart is a record chart compiled on behalf of the British record industry. Until 1 February 1994, the chart was compiled each week by Gallup poll, Gallup – after this date, it was managed by Kantar Group, Millward Brown, wh ...
*" The Globe"


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{Authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles 1991 singles The Clash songs Epic Records singles Macaronic songs UK singles chart number-one singles Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash) Songs written by Topper Headon Songs written by Paul Simonon Songs written by Joe Strummer Music videos directed by Don Letts Songs about parting