5 Rolling Stones Cover Versions That You Must Hear

Peter Checksfield, author of 500 Rolling Stones Cover Versions That You Must Hear!, chooses 5 of his favourite Stones covers.

Choosing five Rolling Stones cover versions out of 500 is not easy! But the five below are both excellent and highly individual, with every artist making the song very much their own.

I’D MUCH RATHER BE WITH THE BOYS – THE TOGGERY FIVE (1965)

A slightly awkward-sounding song in its original demo form, as heard on 1975’s flawed but fascinating ‘Metamorphosis’ compilation, Manchester’s The Toggery Five saw the full potential of ‘I’d Much Rather Be With The Boys’. Despite being a wonderful pop record that fellow Mancunians The Hollies would’ve been proud of, it sadly failed to chart. Guitarist and lead vocalist Frank Renshaw explains the probable reason:

“Everybody had great expectations for the song, but then some… girlie magazines decided it was sexist, and slagged it off. Due to the negativity, we quickly arranged a photo session in Hyde Park with five of the popular models of the day, just to prove that we actually did like girls! In 1966, I was guitar player for Wayne Fontana, and we supported the Rolling Stones at Paris Olympia Theatre. I spoke with Andrew [Oldham] backstage after the show about the song, and he was as dismayed as us.”

Also recommended: Ronnie Spector (2016)

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL – SANDIE SHAW (1969)

Almost from the beginning, thanks largely to Andrew Oldham’s media manipulation, The Rolling Stones had a “bad boy” image. Eventually they started playing up to this, with ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ being the band at their most provocative – and most innovative. Singing with a wild abandon not heard on her hit singles, Sandie Shaw included a cover of the song on 1969’s ‘Reviewing The Situation’, an album that also featured songs from such unlikely sources as Led Zeppelin, Dr. John and Bob Dylan. Sandie:

“The album was due for release in ‘69 and I wanted to do a kind of musical review of the Sixties’ events, ideas, people that had resonated for me. I chose the song because I hoped it would shake people up a bit. It enabled me to be a bit of a devil myself! I chose songs because I felt that they and/or the artists who performed them would continue to have resonance over the next decades. I got some right!”

Also recommended: Linda Kendrick (1974)

CAN’T BELIEVE IT – THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS (1994)

Perhaps the greatest Rolling Stones outtake is a lively ‘Between The Buttons’ era song that has appeared on bootlegs under such titles as ‘Get Yourself Together’, ‘I Can See It’ and ‘Can´t Believe’. The Chesterfield Kings’ powerful version, titled ‘Can’t Believe It’, is on their 1994 album ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’. Lead vocalist and founder member Greg Prevost explains why they recorded it:

“I was / still am a heavy collector of anything concerning the Stones – I had 100s of bootleg albums and that song always knocked me out. It was on at least 4 boots I had during the time I recorded that song with the Chesterfield Kings.”

Perhaps surprisingly, he didn’t need to get special permission to record the song:

“As with most cover songs, you just do them and credit the writers and place the publishing company name on the song. Since this was on a bootleg, no publishers were credited so I just credited the Stones’ then current publishing company on the album.” Greg tried to get Mick Taylor to play on it: “I asked him if he’d play on ‘Can’t Believe It’ but he said he couldn’t do this, a Stones song, out of respect for Keith Richards. He said he liked it a lot and would have liked playing on it. He instead opted to play on the Mose Allison number ‘I’m Not Talking’. He also told me that what we were doing reminded him of the ‘Exile’ sessions.”

PLAY WITH FIRE – THE PRETTY THINGS (1999)

The Rolling Stones cut some great B-sides – ‘Off The Hook’, ‘I’m Free’, ‘Child Of The Moon’, ‘Bitch’ – but none are quite so affectionately remembered or as frequently covered as ‘Play With Fire’. The Pretty Things, a band often compared to The Rolling Stones and featuring original Stone Dick Taylor, included a lengthy and highly atmospheric cover of the song on their 1999 ‘Rage Before Beauty’ album. Dick Taylor:

“It was [Manager] Mark St. John’s idea to record it, which we did in his studio at 145 Wardour Street. It’s also him on drums, myself on the tremolo guitar through a vintage Gibson amp, Frank Holland on the other guitar and, I think, Steve Browning on bass. I am unfortunately really not sure who played the piano on it, which I really like, as I also do Phil’s rather menacing vocal. I remember we recorded the basic track after just a couple of takes one evening at 145 with the brilliant Dave Garland engineering and Mark producing.”

Surprisingly overlooked, their version might be better known if they’d performed it on stage. Dick:

“Unfortunately we never played it live, much to my disappointment I must say. Maybe Phil didn’t want to show Mick up; actually they could have done a great duet on it! I like to think we tried to put a new slant it, something which Phil was very insistent on when doing cover versions and I was always in total agreement with.”

Also recommended: Clefs Of Lavender Hill (1966)

PAINT IT BLACK – ROBYN ADELE ANDERSON (2020)

Even in the fast-changing sixties, it was one hell of a leap from ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ to ‘Paint It Black’ just 3 months later. Sure, The Beatles used a sitar first, on ‘Norwegian Wood’, but no-one before or since has come up with such a perfect combination of East meets West as ‘Paint It Black’! Robyn Adele Anderson’s remarkable version features the song’s usual lyrics sung over a mash-up of ‘Paint It Black’ and the Amy Winehouse song ‘Back To Black’. Robyn:

“It was my idea to combine ‘Paint It Black’ with ‘Back To Black.’ I like creating mash-ups that have some element of irony or wordplay. These songs also had similar enough chord progressions that they could be combined and you could still hear each individual song. I tend to just gravitate towards music that has had a cultural impact and do my best to put my own spin on it! I never listened to classic rock growing up so I enjoy the challenge of covering songs that I’m not as familiar with because it’s always a learning experience.” Issued as a 2020 single, Robyn’s unique version is also on the following year’s ‘Robyn Adele Vol. 6’.