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Rolling Stones songs: Good Time Women
Before Tumbling Dice swaggered its way into The Rolling Stones’ history books, it was still figuring out how to stand upright as Good Time Women—a slightly faster, slightly rougher version that sounds like it’s in too much of a hurry to become famous. Long before polish and perfect groove, the track was already circling the same world of red-light characters and restless nightlife, just without the confidence to lean back and enjoy it. Hearing it now feels like catching a future hit mid-rehearsal, where Mick Taylor’s guitar and Nicky Hopkins’ piano are doing the heavy lifting while Keith Richards quietly starts bending the rhythm toward something looser, stranger, and ultimately far more dangerous.
Yeah we could land in New York City/ With whiskey an’ mighty fine..
*Early version of Tumbling Dice Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Olympic Sound Studios, London, June 16-30 and July 14-27 1970; Rolling Stones Mobile, Stargroves (Mick Jagger’s house), Newbury, England, Oct. 17 1970-Jan. 1971
Mick Jagger: vocals, harmonica Keith Richards: guitar Mick Taylor: guitar Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano)
More about Good Time Women by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
The song before the hit
Sometimes the most fascinating chapter in a song’s history comes before anyone knows it matters. Long before Tumbling Dice became one of the standout tracks on Exile on Main St., it existed as something else entirely: Good Time Women. Far from being a simple demo, the song was already a fully formed recording with its own character, lyrics, and energy. Yet listening to it today reveals a band still searching for the missing ingredient that would eventually turn a promising track into a classic.
Good Time Women offers a rare opportunity to hear The Rolling Stones in the middle of that process. The song contains many of the ideas that would survive into Tumbling Dice, but it follows a different path. Like an early sketch of a famous painting, it allows listeners to see the decisions, experiments, and happy accidents that helped shape the final masterpiece.
A different kind of swagger
The most obvious difference is the tempo. Good Time Women moves with greater urgency, charging forward at a noticeably faster pace than the laid-back groove of Tumbling Dice. By the end, the performance is almost racing ahead of itself. The lyrics also point in a different direction. References to red-light women and party-loving characters place the song closer in spirit to Honky Tonk Women than the version that eventually appeared on Exile on Main St. Musically, the track is driven by two crucial performances. Mick Taylor supplies energetic lead guitar throughout, while Nicky Hopkins adds the boogie piano that keeps the recording rolling forward. Together they create a lively atmosphere that feels raw and spontaneous. Rather than sounding unfinished, the song feels like a band exploring possibilities in real time.
Keith Richards changes everything
The biggest transformation came from Keith Richards. During these sessions, he handled both lead and rhythm guitar, while Mick Jagger played bass. Although Good Time Women already contained many of the musical ideas that would later appear in Tumbling Dice, it lacked the loose, effortless groove that ultimately defined the finished song. Richards’ rhythmic approach proved to be the missing ingredient. Combined with revised lyrics, he helped steer the track away from being just another solid album cut and toward becoming one of the standout moments on Exile on Main St. It’s a reminder that sometimes a song doesn’t need to be rewritten from scratch—it just needs someone to hear what it’s trying to become.
From the vault to an essential missing link
For nearly four decades Good Time Women remained buried in the Rolling Stones archives before finally surfacing in 2010 as part of the expanded Exile reissue. Its release gave fans a rare chance to hear a classic song in mid-transformation. Speaking to The Sunday Times on May 9, 2010, Keith Richards recalled listening to the track and suddenly realizing he was hearing the earliest version of Tumbling Dice. He reflected that many songs begin as rough ideas waiting for the moment when everything falls into place. Today Good Time Women stands as far more than an unreleased outtake. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the Stones’ creative process, capturing the point where inspiration, experimentation, and instinct gradually evolved into one of the band’s most enduring recordings.
Mick Jagger (2010): “With Tumbling Dice there’s an outtake I’ve found that has completely different lyrics. It wasn’t until we got to L.A. that I rewrote them. The original lyrics were crap.”
Keith Richards (2010): “The basic idea, as you can hear from Good Time Women, was already there. But it took a while for it to turn into Tumbling Dice. We were stuck for a good lyrical hook to go with this really great riff, so we left it in abeyance for a bit.”
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