"Time Is on My Side" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy (using the pseudonym "Norman Meade"). First recorded by jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his orchestra in 1963, it was covered (with additional lyrics by Jimmy Norman) by both soul singer Irma Thomas and then later the Rolling Stones in 1964.

Kai Winding

The song was first recorded by Kai Winding, a Danish-American jazz trombonist who was looking to take his career in a more mainstream direction. ^[1] Session arranger Garry Sherman contacted friend and colleague Jerry Ragovoy,^{[ citation needed]} who wrote the title, melody and chorus. The session singers Dee Dee Warwick, Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston sung "time is on my side – you'll come running back" in a gospel style over Winding's trombone melody. ^[1] Produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Phil Ramone, the recording was released on the Verve Records label^{[ citation needed]} in October 1963. It received some radio coverage but did not chart. ^[1]

Irma Thomas rendition

On April 16, 1964, Irma Thomas recorded an R&B cover of the song as the B-side for the single " Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)", released on Imperial Records. H. B. Barnum, the session director, suggested the song, and session singer Jimmy Norman wrote the lyrics during the recording. ^{[2] [3]} Thomas monologues during the song that her ex-lover will suffer, not her, for his bad behavior. ^[1]

Produced by Eddie Ray, Thomas' version of "Time Is on My Side" provided the inspiration for the title of her 1996 greatest hits release Time Is on My Side.

Rolling Stones version

"Time Is on My Side"
Single by the Rolling Stones
from the album The Rolling Stones No. 2 and 12 x 5
B-side	"Congratulations"
Released	September 25, 1964 (1964-09-25) (US single version)
Recorded	June 24–26, 1964 (US single version)
Studio	Regent Sound, London
Genre	Blues rock rhythm and blues
Length	2:50
Label	London
Songwriter(s)	Norman Meade a.k.a. Jerry Ragovoy Jimmy Norman
Producer(s)	Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones American singles chronology
" It's All Over Now" (1964) "Time Is on My Side" (1964) " Heart of Stone" (1964)

Thomas' song came to The Rolling Stones' attention as they often bought U.S.-imported music from Soho shops. According to Garth Cartwright of the Financial Times, Thomas' "big chorus, blues flavour and callous dismissal of a lover" suited the band. ^[1] They first recorded the song in June 1964, within days of hearing it, at London's Regent Sound studios. They used a briefer organ-only intro and guitars in place of horns to create a rock anthem song, with vocalist Mick Jagger imitating Thomas' ad-libs. ^{[1] [4]} This looser arrangement was released as a single in the US, on September 25, 1964, ^[4] and was included the following month on their US album 12 X 5. It became the band's first top ten hit in the United States. ^[5] Cash Box described it at the time as a "throbbing rhythm affair" with "an effective mid-deck recitation". ^[6]

The second arrangement (more tightly arranged and featuring guitar in the intro), recorded in Chicago's Chess studio on November 8, 1964, ^{[7] [1]} was released in the UK on January 15, 1965, ^[8] on The Rolling Stones No. 2. This later rendition is the one that receives the most airplay and appears on most "best of" compilations. Both versions incorporate elements of Irma Thomas's recording, including spoken-word interjections in the chorus, a monologue in the middle of the song, and distinctive lead guitar.^{[ citation needed]}

The single peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Pop Singles Chart to become the Rolling Stones' first top ten hit in the US. Their previous single, " It's All Over Now", had peaked at No. 26.

A live version of the song from the band's 1982 live album, Still Life, reached No. 62 in the UK Singles Chart. ^[9]

The song was part of the British Invasion, in which English covers of black American songs received more U.S. radio attention than the original. Thomas refused to sing her version after the Rolling Stones' recording for multiple decades, telling interviewers that the band had not acknowledged her despite given support act slots to other singers like Tina Turner. In 1992, she began performing it again following a TV show appearance in which the host Bonnie Raitt introduced her as the original singer. ^[1]

Personnel

• Mick Jagger – lead vocals and tambourine
• Keith Richards – lead guitar and backing vocals
• Brian Jones – rhythm guitar and backing vocals
• Bill Wyman – bass and backing vocals
• Charlie Watts – drums
• Ian Stewart – Vox Continental organ

Charts

Recordings by other artists

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: other versions may not meet WP:SONGCOVER. Please help improve this section if you can. (May 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

"Time Is on My Side" has since been covered by artists such as Indexi, Michael Bolton, Cat Power, Hattie Littles, Blondie, Wilson Pickett, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, the O'Jays, the Pretty Things, Lorraine Ellison, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Kim Wilson, Tracy Nelson, Patti Smith, ^[18] Andrés Calamaro (for his "El Salmón", a CD with 103 songs), and the Moody Blues (in 1965 and on the 1985 re-release of The Magnificent Moodies).

Pop singer and pianist Vanessa Carlton recorded a version for a Time Warner digital video recorders commercial, which also served as promotion for her second album, Harmonium (2004), and received heavy rotation on US television during early 2005. ^[19] The newspaper Metroland reviewed her take on the song negatively, and wrote, "we tend to think time is most definitely not on her side — how else to explain the near-universal apathy to the release of her second album, Harmonium?" ^[20] Harmonium was not re-issued to include the song.

In 2004, Jimmy Norman, who wrote the lyrics to "Time is on My Side" but whose name was eventually removed from credits, ^[21] recorded it for the first time as the last track on his album Little Pieces.

In 2007, English soul singer Beverley Knight recorded it, featuring Ronnie Wood, for her fifth studio album, Music City Soul.

In 2012, American professional wrestler Bray Wyatt would often menacingly sing the chorus of the song during his promos. ^[22]

References

Sources

• Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (25 October 2016). The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. ISBN  978-0-316-31773-3.