Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?

"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was recorded in the late summer of 1966 during early sessions for what would become their Between the Buttons album. It was the first Stones single to be released simultaneously (23 September 1966) in both the UK and the US, and reached number five and number nine on those countries' charts, respectively.

"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"
US picture sleeve
Single by the Rolling Stones
B-side"Who's Driving Your Plane?"
Released23 September 1966 (1966-09-23)
Recorded3–11, 31 August and 8 September 1966
Studio
  • RCA, Hollywood, California
  • IBC, London
Length2:33
Label
Songwriter(s)Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)Andrew Loog Oldham
Rolling Stones UK singles chronology
"Paint It Black"
(1966)
"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"
(1966)
"Ruby Tuesday" / "Let's Spend the Night Together"
(1967)
Rolling Stones US singles chronology
"Mother's Little Helper"
(1966)
"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?"
(1966)
"Let's Spend the Night Together" / "Ruby Tuesday"
(1967)
Rear cover
US picture sleeve (rear)

Recording and releases

edit

It is the first Rolling Stones song to feature a 1920s-influenced horn section, which was arranged by Mike Leander. The group have said that they were unhappy with the final cut, bemoaning the loss of the original cut's strong rhythm section. It is also the first song Richards is said to have written on piano even though he does not play piano on the final cut. Jack Nitzsche, friend of the band and their occasional pianist, is credited in the session logs to piano, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones is also credited in the logs for playing the piano. However, when the band mimed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on 11 September 1966, shortly before its release, Richards mimed the piano with Jones miming the guitar.[1]

The American picture sleeve includes a photo of the band dressed in drag, shot by Jerry Schatzberg. Peter Whitehead's promotional film for the single was one of the first music videos. The Stones only performed the song live over a span of twelve days during their 1966 tour. One live recording appears on Got Live If You Want It! (1966, US). In 1993, Jagger performed it in New York City during his only show promoting his solo album Wandering Spirit.

The song is included on several Rolling Stones compilation albums, such as the British edition of Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966, UK), Flowers (1967, US), Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969 US edition), More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972), Singles Collection: The London Years (1989), and Forty Licks (2002, with the abbreviated title "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby?").

Reception

edit

Cash Box said that it "the hard rocking, infectious sound is laced with a husky Jagger solo that builds back to a frenzied shout."[2] Record World called it a "different, fast, funky, strange new side."[3]

Personnel

edit

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon,[4] except where noted:

The Rolling Stones

Additional musicians and production

Charts

edit
Chart (1966) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 17
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 12
Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[10] 30
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 5
Germany (GfK)[12] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[14] 6
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[15] 9
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[16] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 9

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Margotin and Guesdon suggest Nitzsche may have contributed tambourine to the track,[6] while authors Andy Babiuk and Greg Prevost write he only played piano.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ TV.com. "The Ed Sullivan Show: September 11, 1966: The Rolling Stones, Louis Armstrong, Red Skelton". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 1, 1966. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 1, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  4. ^ Margotin & Guesdon 2016, pp. 172–173.
  5. ^ Babiuk & Prevost 2013, p. 235.
  6. ^ Margotin & Guesdon 2016, p. 172.
  7. ^ Babiuk & Prevost 2013, p. 233.
  8. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5766." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 240. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rolling Stones". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  12. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  13. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  14. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?". VG-lista. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  15. ^ Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. p. 243. ISBN 9163021404.
  16. ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 313. ISBN 919727125X.
  17. ^ "Rolling Stones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  18. ^ "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2016.

Sources

edit