The Stones were looking for another number one and, one day while fooling around in the studio, they came upon the melody that would become “Paint It Black.” It was originally released as “Paint It, Black,” much the same except with an extra comma n the name. This was an error which Decca Records made and was corrected in subsequent releases. If you have a copy of the original, it might be worth something. It was, as was most Rolling Stones songs, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard.

The intent of the song was to describe the bleakness of society. The song refers to the grief that one feels after losing a loved one, such as a wife, lover or partner. Some say that Mick Jagger took his inspiration from the book “Ulysses” by James Joyce. The line in the book reads “I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.” That’s pretty bleak.

Keith and Mick would often come to the studio with just an outline of a song. They would work with it in the studio, getting input from the others and formulate a song around the idea they started with. In this case, Brian Jones had taken in interest in Moroccan music and decided that a sitar would sound good. So, they brought in a sitar and this is the first song by the group to use the instrument. George Harrison had recently used the sitar in the recording of “Norwegian Wood,” and the interest in the instrument was high during this time. Brian Jones was actually accused of imitating the Beatles, to which he replied, “What utter rubbish.”

It was during the summer of 1966, that the Stones went on tour to promote the album that contained “Paint It Black.” That album was called Aftermath in the United States. The band spent the summer touring the States and finished up in Hawaii on July 25. No one knew at the time that this would be the last time the original Rolling Stones would play in the United States. By 1969, founding member, Brian Jones had developed enough of a drug problem that Mick Jagger asked him to leave the band. He left the band in June of 1969 and just a month later, was found in his swimming pool, drowned, while under the influence of drugs.

The Stones then hired Mick Taylor to take his place and the Stones went on to record and chart for many years. They would have five more number one songs between 1967 and 1978, all of which we will get to in due time.

“Paint It Black” debuted on the pop chart in the United States on May 21, 1966 and spent two weeks at number one. It was also a number one hit in England.