Brian Jones. Late guitarist of the rolling stones. A true musical genius. But a songwriter?
Could he Write?
After some brief research on the internet, I've come a little closer to an answer. Take a look.
According to several sources, Brian Jones did write some songs for the stones in 1963-64. He had a certain amount of power at this stage, and it isn't unlikely that his talent in music could be reflected in songwriting, as he indisputably composed the soundtrack for the film "A degree of Murder", starring his girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg in 1967. So why not write some songs for the stones when he was at his height of power? The idea isn't that surrealistic.
His girlfriend Linda Lawrence and her mother said Brian would write plenty of songs, but could be too intimidated to present them for the stones. There are supposedly some exceptions. Brian himself said in 1965 that he "Always tried [Writing Songs]. Written quite a few, mostly in blues style"The Songs:
But which songs did Brian write, and have we heard any of them? The answer is most likely no. The ones you have heard are either derivative of surrounded by debate about song credits. The rest, well, it seems that only the band, and a few other privileged have heard the tracks. In chronological order, the tracks that Brian wrote and the stones recorded with him are:
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| Rice Krispies |
"I Wake up in the Morning" - It's the old commercial that was written for the Rice Krispies cereal. Recorded in october-november 1963. Now all the websites I've been to claim that Brian wrote this, or co-wrote it with J. W. Thompson. However, Christopher Sandford, in his recent book about the stones (The Rolling stones, 50 years), explains that Mick and Keith wrote it. It's on youtube, sung by mick, with Brian on a loud harmonica. Typical early blues-style stones. But if Brian wrote it, it's of some interest.
"Sure I Do" - Recorded November 20th or 21st 1963. All sites have mentioned this song, and MrMandaJones on IORR says he has read about in a "book about interesting music" which he in the comments says has never been published...
But anyways, this is a number with Brian may, or may not have co-written with Gene Pitney, whom had established a relationship with the band at the time. According to all the sites, Brian sing in a soft spoken voice, silently, not his bluesy rasp. But he sings! Lead vocals. I'd love to hear that tape, but no one has. Some claim to have heard ten seconds of it on an old bootleg, and it's definitely not on youtube. However, all sites state that it's been published by "Posner Music Company", but googling it was hopeless. I did some further research, and found a possible website, which I e-mailed to inquire about "Sure I Do". I'm still waiting for a reply. Also, some have reported that there's a record with this track for display in Bill Wyman's "Sticky Fingers cafe". Others say that this is nonsense. The song is not mentioned by Sandford. But I do hope it exists.
"I Want You to Know" - Recorded December 7th or 9th in 1963, and is supposedly a Brian original with no co-writers. But we get different answers to who sings it. One theory is that it's Brian in is raspy voice, or Mick, with Brian simply on the harmonica. But of course, I'd like seeing this in the shops as well.
"Dust My Pyramids" - Recorded in 1964 to open a BBC radio broadcast. It's an instrumental heavily derived from "Dust My Broom" credited to Brian. I have not heard it, but it may be out there somewhere. Angelfire does not mention this, probably due to its small significance.
These are the songs, check out angelfire for all his musical work on tape. If you find any of these songs, please share them in the comments!
I'm still waiting for an answer to if "Sure I Do" and "I want you to Know" exists, but if I get it, I will share it here!
Links:
And check out "The Rolling Stones, 50 Years"
