I Wanna Be Your Man

Written and first recorded by The Beatles (Sept-Oct 1963).
Hit version first released by The Rolling Stones (UK #12 Nov 1963).

From The Beatles’ Bible: “Accounts of its genesis vary. Paul McCartney recalled that ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was written for [Ringo] Starr and later offered to the Stones. McCartney recounted how he and Lennon were passed by a taxi containing [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards while walking down London’s Charing Cross Road. ‘So they shouted from the taxi and we yelled, ‘Hey, hey, give us a lift, give us a lift,’ and we bummed a lift off them. So there were the four of us sitting in a taxi and I think Mick said, ‘Hey, we’re recording. Got any songs?’ And we said, ‘Aaaah, yes, sure, we got one. How about Ringo’s song? You could do it as a single.”

“However, John Lennon recalled completing it [in the studio] with McCartney, sitting in front of Jagger and Richards who were impressed enough to begin songwriting themselves shortly afterwards.

“Although musically one of The Beatles’ most rudimentary songs, the recording of ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ by the group was a surprisingly drawn out affair. The Beatles recorded a single take during the 11 September 1963 session, the day after they had offered it to Jagger and Richards. They returned to it the following day, recording a further six takes but leaving it unfinished. Then, at the end of the month, George Martin overdubbed an organ part onto take-seven while The Beatles were on holiday. On 3 October Ringo overdubbed a maraca part, and on the 23rd the group finally completed the recording.

“The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, took just one day (October 7) to put their version down to tape, to be released as the group’s second single – and the Stones’ very first Top-20 hit – on November 1, 1963 – three weeks before The Beatles released their own recording on the album, With the Beatles.

“Bill Wyman recalled, ‘We kind of learned it pretty quickly ’cause there wasn’t that much to learn. Then Brian got his slide out, his steel (guitar) out and dadaw … dadaw … and we said, ‘Yeah, that’s better, dirty it up a bit and bash it out’, and we kind of completely turned the song around and made it much more tough, Stones- and Elmore James-like.’

“Released only as a single, the Rolling Stones’ rendition did not appear on an album until included as part of a ‘greatest hits’ compilation in 1972, Milestones. The Stones’ ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was the first song ever performed on the premiere of BBC’s Top of the Pops, on January 1, 1964.”

The Rolling Stones, “I Wanna Be Your Man” original single (1963):

The Rolling Stones, “I Wanna Be Your Man” live TV performance on The Arthur Haynes Show (1964):