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It’s time to read about The Rolling Stones first official recording session. As history has it, after the band’s one and only “unofficial” recording session at London’s Curly Clayton Sound Studio on October 27 1962 (featuring Mick, Keith, Brian and Stu, plus Dick Taylor on bass and Tony Chapman on drums), where they recorded three songs (James Oden’s ‘Soon Forgotten’, Jimmy Reed’s ‘Close Together’ and Willie Dixon’s ‘You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover’), producer/manager Andrew Loog Oldham booked Olympic Studios for the Stones’ first official recording session ever on May 10 1963, which coincided with the signing of their management contract.

Roger Savage was designated as the recording engineer. They chose to perform Chuck Berry’s ‘Come On’ at a rapid tempo, faster than Berry’s original version. Despite Berry’s earlier successes in the USA and UK during the 1950s, he had not achieved chart success in the early 1960s. The song was relatively obscure and could have been perceived as an original by the public. It featured a harmonica played in a railroad style throughout, resulting in a meticulously clear recording with well-defined instrumentation. Ian Stewart, present at the sessions, did not contribute to the recording because Andrew Loog Oldham instructed that his microphone be turned off (as documented in Oldham’s book Stoned) Roger Savage initially asked him to handle the mixing, assuming it was part of Andrew’s production responsibilities but Oldham, busy with other matters, left Roger to manage the task. rolling stones first official recording session
Andrew still needed a record label to distribute the product. At that time both EMI and Decca were the only major recording companies in the UK. After being turned down by EMI, there was only one remaining option. Decca’s artist and repertoire (A&R) man, Dick Rowe, who famously chose Brian Poole and The Tremeloes over The Beatles previously, was eager to correct his mistake and restore his reputation in the music industry. Ironically, Beatle George Harrison had already advised Rowe to sign the band.

Oldham negotiated a clever contract allowing the Stones to record independently and then sell the tapes to Decca. Decca, initially skeptical of the Impact Sound, requested a re-recording of ‘Come On’ at their own studios on May 16. After listening to both versions, Decca agreed to release the original Impact Sound/Roger Savage version. The band themselves were uncertain about the outcome overseen by the “no mix” producer Andrew Oldham and sound engineer Roger Savage. As a testament to their hesitation, the song was not performed at concerts. It was eventually included on a Decca compilation Thank Your Lucky Stars Vol. 2 featuring various artists, which was released in September that year.

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