19th Nervous Breakdown
{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name = 19th Nervous Breakdown
| cover = Nervousstones.jpg
| alt =
| caption = West German picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = the Rolling Stones
| album =
| B-side = *"As Tears Go By" (UK)
- "Sad Day" (US)
| released = {{Start date|1966|02|4|df=y}}
| recorded = 3–8 December 1965
| studio = RCA (Hollywood, California)
| venue =
| genre = Rock
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=56}}
| label = *Decca (UK)
- London (US)
| writer = Jagger–Richards
| producer = Andrew Loog Oldham
| chronology = Rolling Stones UK
| prev_title = Get Off of My Cloud
| prev_year = 1965
| next_title = Paint It Black
| next_year = 1966
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Rolling Stones US
| type = single
| prev_title = As Tears Go By
| prev_year = 1965
| title = 19th Nervous Breakdown
| year = 1966
| next_title = Paint It Black
| next_year = 1966
}}{{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = The_Rolling_Stones_-_19th_Nervous_Breakdown.ogg
}}
}}
"19th Nervous Breakdown" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards,{{Pop Chronicles|38|3|Mick Jagger}} it was recorded in late 1965 and released as a single in February 1966. It reached number 2 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Britain's Record Retailer chart (subsequently the UK Singles Chart), while topping the charts compiled by Cash Box and NME.
Composition and recording
The song was written during the group's October–December 1965 tour of the United States and recorded at the conclusion of their fourth North American tour during the Aftermath album sessions, between 3 and 8 December 1965 at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.
Jagger came up with the title first and then wrote the lyrics around it. The opening guitar figure is played by Keith Richards while in the verses Brian Jones plays a bass-note figure that derives from "Diddley Daddy" by Bo Diddley, a major influence on the Rolling Stones' style.{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicomh.com/albums/bo-diddley_0306.htm|title=Bo Diddley – The Story Of Bo Diddley: album review|website=Musicomh.com|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235253/http://www.musicomh.com/albums/bo-diddley_0306.htm|url-status=dead}}{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t3154060}} Here the riff is extended into a long blues chord progression behind lyrics similar to those of their previous UK single, "Get Off of My Cloud", and the verse alternates with a bridge theme. The track is also known for Bill Wyman's "dive-bombing" bass line at the end. At almost four minutes' duration, it is long by the standards of the time.
Cash Box described the single as a "pulsating, hard-driving fast-moving bluesy affair about a sensitive gal who lets her guy get him down."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=February 19, 1966 |page=20 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1966/CB-1966-02-19.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}} Record World called the lyrics "intriguing."{{cite magazine|title=Single Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=February 19, 1966|page=1|accessdate=2023-07-17|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/66/RW-1966-02-19.pdf}}
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon,{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|p=160}} except where noted:
The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger{{snd}} vocals
- Keith Richards{{snd}} backing vocals, lead guitar,{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=205}} fuzz guitar{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=205}}
- Brian Jones{{snd}} rhythm guitar
- Bill Wyman{{snd}} bass
- Charlie Watts{{snd}} drums
Additional musician
- Ian Stewart{{snd}} piano
Release
"19th Nervous Breakdown" was released as a single on 4 February 1966 in the UK and on 12 February 1966 in the US. Like many early Rolling Stones recordings, "19th Nervous Breakdown" has been officially released only in mono sound. A stereo mix of the song has turned up in private and bootleg collections.{{cite web|title=The Rolling Stones in Stereo|url=http://www.lukpac.org/stereostones/stereosongs.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909031217/http://www.lukpac.org/stereostones/stereosongs.html|archive-date=9 September 2012|access-date=24 July 2009}} An alternate version features a radically different vocal from Jagger, who alternates between mellow on the verses and rawer on the chorus. The Stones performed "19th Nervous Breakdown" live on The Ed Sullivan Show on 11 September.{{Cite web|date=4 March 2016|title=Products Page|url=http://www.edsullivan.com/artists/the-rolling-stones|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053552/http://www.edsullivan.com/artists/the-rolling-stones|archive-date=4 March 2016|website=The Ed Sullivan Show}}
"19th Nervous Breakdown" has further appeared on numerous Stones compilations, including Hot Rocks 1964–1971 (1971),{{Citation|last=Eder|first=Bruce|title=Hot Rocks: 1964-1971 - The Rolling Stones {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-rocks-1964-1971-mw0000227887|publisher=AllMusic|language=en|access-date=2021-01-17}} Singles Collection: The London Years (1989),{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|author1-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=The Complete Singles Collection: The London Years – The Rolling Stones|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-singles-collection-the-london-years-mw0000201604|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106235349/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-complete-singles-collection-the-london-years-mw0000201604|archive-date=6 January 2021|access-date=6 January 2021|publisher=AllMusic}} Forty Licks (2002),{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|title="Forty Licks" – The Rolling Stones|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/forty-licks-mw0000661926|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106235343/https://www.allmusic.com/album/forty-licks-mw0000661926|archive-date=6 January 2021|access-date=6 January 2021|publisher=AllMusic}} and GRRR! (2012).{{Cite web|last=Egan|first=Sean|title=BBC – Music – Review of The Rolling Stones – Grrr!|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/mdj9/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106235353/https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/mdj9/|archive-date=6 January 2021|access-date=17 September 2020|publisher=BBC|language=en-GB}}
Commercial performance
In the UK, "19th Nervous Breakdown" reached number 2 on the Record Retailer chart. The single topped the NME Top 30 chart for three weeks in addition to the BBC's Pick of the Pops charts. The single was the fifth best-selling single of 1966 in the UK, achieving greater full-year sales than both Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'{{-"}} and the Stones' own "Paint It Black".{{cite web|url=http://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/66chart.htm#top100|title=The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1966 [in the U.K.]|access-date=13 May 2015}}
In the US, "19th Nervous Breakdown" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, behind "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by SSgt Barry Sadler, and number 1 on the Cash Box Top 100.{{cite book|last=Bonanno|first=Massimo|title=The Rolling Stones Chronicle: The First Thirty Years|publisher=Plexus|year=1990|isbn=978-0-859651356|location=London|page=53}}
Chart performance
References
{{Reflist}}
=Sources=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Babiuk |first1=Andy |last2=Prevost |first2=Greg |author1-link=Andy Babiuk |title=Rolling Stones Gear: All the Stones' Instruments from Stage to Studio |date=2013 |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=Milwaukee |isbn=978-1-61713-092-2}}
- {{cite book |last1=Margotin |first1=Philippe |last2=Guesdon |first2=Jean-Michel |title=The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |date=2016 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-0-316-31774-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5eTCwAAQBAJ}}
{{refend}}
{{The Rolling Stones}}
{{The Rolling Stones singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:The Rolling Stones songs
Category:Decca Records singles
Category:London Records singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Songs written by Jagger–Richards