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Rolling Stones songs: I Want to Be Loved (alternate take)
More about the Rolling Stones’ alternate version of I Want To Be Loved
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
The Rolling Stones’ First Steps: The Making of I Want to Be Loved
When The Rolling Stones entered the studio on May 2, 1963, they were a young band with boundless energy but little direction. Their newly appointed manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, had booked them to record their debut single—yet one crucial detail remained uncertain: what would they play? At that point, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had not begun writing their own material, so the band combed through their cherished record collections in search of inspiration.
Their choice for the A-side fell on Chuck Berry’s Come On, a crisp, pop-influenced tune from Berry’sChess album that had just been released. For the flip side, they decided on a grittier, blues-soaked piece—Muddy Waters’ I Want to Be Loved. It was a song they already knew well, having tried to record it months earlier before any record label or manager had shown interest.
The blues heartbeat behind the B-side
If Come On felt like a nod to mainstream rock ’n’ roll, I Want to Be Loved was a return to the band’s roots—a reaffirmation of who they really were. Written by the legendary Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955, the song carried the deep, electrified pulse of Chicago blues. To the five young Londoners who named their group after another Muddy Waters tune, Rollin’ Stone, this track symbolized authenticity. It was less about polish and more about feel—the kind of raw, emotional drive that inspired the Stones in dingy clubs long before they were famous. By reimagining I Want to Be Loved with a faster tempo and youthful urgency, they captured the tension between reverence and rebellion, an early sign of the chemistry that would soon define them.
From the studio to the charts
Decca Records released Come On on June 7, 1963, barely a month after that crucial recording session. To everyone’s surprise, the single began climbing the charts, reaching No. 20 on the New Musical Express singles chart by July 27. But even success had its quirks: Decca sent only four copies of the single to Oldham’s office, forcing the band to buy their own records in local shops. Despite the achievement, the Stones themselves weren’t particularly fond of their debut release. They performed it live for just a few weeks before dropping it from their setlists altogether. Manager Andrew Loog Oldham, ever the provocateur, once stormed into the Scene Club in Soho and demanded they play Come On at every gig. His insistence didn’t last long—neither did their patience for following orders.
A song rediscovered decades later
I Want to Be Loved might have lived quietly in the shadow of its A-side if not for its reemergence nearly half a century later. The alternate take of the song, featuring the Stones’ early raw energy and unmistakable hunger, resurfaced in 2012 as part of the deluxe edition of the Grrr! compilation. Hearing the young Stones revisit a Muddy Waters classic with such unfiltered intensity provides a snapshot of a band on the brink of transformation—still finding their sound, but already channeling the electricity of the blues that defined them. It’s more than just a B-side curiosity; it’s a glimpse into the moment when five British musicians began reshaping American rhythm and blues into something entirely their own.
The moment before everything changed
Looking back, that May 1963 session stands as a turning point—the moment when The Rolling Stones stepped from the smoky clubs of London into the recording era. Their choice of songs reflected both uncertainty and instinct: Chuck Berry for the radio, Muddy Waters for the soul. Within a year, Mick and Keith would begin writing songs that fused both worlds, blending melody and grit in a way that would set them apart from every other British band. Yet I Want to Be Loved remains a vital artifact of their beginning. It’s a reminder that before the swagger, the stadiums, and the legend, The Rolling Stones were simply five young blues devotees chasing a sound that felt like home—and finding it, one take at a time.
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