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"Monkey Man"
Song by the Rolling Stones
from the album Let It Bleed
Released5 December 1969 (1969-12-05)
RecordedApril 1969
Genre
Length4:11
Label
Songwriter(s)Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)Jimmy Miller

"Monkey Man" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured as the eighth track on their 1969 album Let It Bleed.

Composition and recording

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote "Monkey Man" as a tribute to Italian pop artist Mario Schifano, whom they met on the set of his movie Umano Non Umano! (Human, Not Human!).[2][3] Recorded in April 1969, the song's introduction features distinctive vibraphone, bass, guitar, and piano. Richards plays main riff and slide guitar solo, Jagger provides vocals, producer Jimmy Miller plays tambourine, Nicky Hopkins plays piano, Charlie Watts provides drums, while Bill Wyman plays vibraphone and bass. Wyman's vibraphone is mixed onto the left channel together with Hopkins' piano.

Classic Rock History critic Matthew Pollard rated "Monkey Man" as the Rolling Stones' 9th best deep cut, particularly praising the "vibraphone chimes at the beginning [that] give the song its espionage-esque vibes, and Richards’ awesome slide solo[3]

Personnel

Live performances

The Rolling Stones performed "Monkey Man" often on their 1994–1995 Voodoo Lounge Tour. A recording from their 2002/03 Licks Tour is included on Live Licks (2004).

Sampling

The distinctive piano progression in the introduction is used as the opening theme "Playing With Fire" on the Stereo MCs' 1992 album Connected.

References

  1. ^ Luft, Eric v d (21 September 2009). Die at the Right Time!: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties. Gegensatz Press. ISBN 9781933237398. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "The making of The Rolling Stones' 'Let It Bleed' Part 2". Goldmine Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  3. ^ a b Pollard, Matthew (28 December 2023). "10 Rolling Stones Songs That Are Fan Favorite Deep Cuts". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
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