Rolling Stones songs: Look What You’ve Done
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

A broken heart/ A worried mind/ Because of you, baby/ Dying all the time…

Written by: McKinley Morganfield
Recorded: Chess Studios, Chicago, USA, June 10-11 1964
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book:
This song, released as a single in 1960 (with “Love Affair” as the A-side),
was originally recorded by Muddy Waters, the bluesman whose influence
helped the Rolling Stones to become the number one British blues-rock
group. In it the guitarist from Rolling Fork, Mississippi, confides his
troubles. His wife or girlfriend has left him, leaving him all alone with a
permanently broken heart. Left with nothing but memories, he hears a bird
crying in the distance as night falls… Ray Manzarek, the future keyboard
player with the Doors, said that “Look What You’ve Done” was actually
written not by Muddy Waters but by a pair of young songwriters, one of
whom was himself, who supposedly sent a demo of their song to Chess in
Chicago only to discover some time later, to their enormous delight, that it
had been recorded by none other than Muddy Waters. The only problem is
that it was credited not to them but to a certain McKinley Morganfield…

The Rolling Stones recorded this version of “Look What You’ve Done”
during a two-day spell (June 10 and 11, 1964) at Chess Studios, the fief of
Muddy Waters. Once again it is Brian Jones who lends the number its
distinctive color, with harmonica playing that soulfully evokes a person
carrying all the troubles of the world on his shoulders. It is worth stressing
again just how good Jones was on this instrument. As if further proof were
necessary, he plays an absolutely superb solo (1:05). The group’s gradual
abandoning of the blues, a genre that Brian Jones so loved, and for which
he had a passion that he was so good at transmitting, is without a doubt a
cause for regret. On this number he shares the glory with Ian Stewart, who
plays an excellent boogie-woogie piano, likewise demonstrating his love of
the genre. Keith, playing rhythm on his Epiphone Casino, is the only guitar.
He is supported by Bill and Charlie, who play their parts with the utmost
serenity, providing Mick with a solid foundation for the lyrics, which the
singer nevertheless delivers with a certain restraint. The result of the
supposed presence of Muddy Waters at the recording? The Stones’ version
is in no way unworthy of the original. On the contrary, they contribute a
subtly British feel to the number that differentiates them from their US
elder