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Rolling Stones songs: Slave
Twenty four hours a day/ Hey, why don’t you go down to the supermarket/ Get something to eat, steal something of the shelves…
Also known as: Black and Blue Jam ; Vagina Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Rolling Stones Mobile, Rotterdam, Holland, Jan. 22-Feb. 9 1975; EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris, France, Oct. 11-Nov. 12 1980; Atlantic Studios, NYC, USA, April-June 1981 Guest musicians: Pete Townshend (backup vocals), Billy Preston (organ), Sonny Rollins (sax) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Before it became part of Tattoo You in 1981, Slave lived as a loose, bluesy jam known simply as Black and Blue Jam or, errr, Vagina... Originally recorded during the Black and Blue sessions in Rotterdam in 1974, it captured The Rolling Stones in a moment of transition—Mick Taylor had left, and the band was experimenting with fresh musical directions. The early version featured an all-star lineup, including Jeff Beck on guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Billy Preston on organ. But when the Stones returned to the track years later, producer Bob Clearmountain made bold changes—removing Beck and Hopkins’s parts and bringing in jazz legend Sonny Rollins to cut a blazing sax solo. The result? A funk-laced, blues-rock hybrid that grooves more than it speaks. Lyrically, it’s minimal—Jagger chants “do it” and “don’t wanna be your slave” repeatedly, adding only a cryptic spoken line about shoplifting. It’s raw, hypnotic, and defiantly unpolished.
Slave, Stripped Down: Sonic Shifts and the Pete Townshend Connection
Slave may sound like a jam-heavy groove, but its journey from studio to album was anything but simple. First tracked in 1974, the original version featured power players Billy Preston on organ, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and guitar hero Jeff Beck—yet all their parts were later wiped in the final mix. While the Stones didn’t shy away from the term “slave” in their lyrics (just think of the biting opener of Brown Sugar), the word took on a stripped-down, rhythmic role here.
But there’s another intriguing layer: The Who’s Pete Townshend lent backing vocals to the track. His long, zigzagging history with the Stones includes everything from claiming he borrowed his windmill move from Keith Richards, to appearing at their Rock and Roll Circus, and even inducting them into the Rock Hall in 1989. Their paths crossed often—with both sound and attitude.
When Jazz Met Rock: Sonny Rollins Joins the Stones
Sonny Rollins contributed saxophone to three tracks on Tattoo You: this one, Waiting on a Friend and Neighbours. In an interview with Uncut magazine, the legendary jazz musician shared how he came to collaborate with the Rolling Stones on the album: “My wife, Lucille, convinced me to get involved,” he said. “I was a little bit dismissive when they asked me, but she said, ‘Man, it’s the Stones!’ I was always more of a Beatles man – that Paul McCartney is a great songwriter. But I used to look down on music that I thought wasn’t on the same level as jazz…
…Anyway, the Stones got me into a studio and played me a few songs they’d recorded and asked me to play over the top. Kinda riffing, really. They sent me a copy of the record and a lovely letter, but I never listen to my old recordings. It was only when I was in some grocery store in Upstate New York, quite a long time later, where I heard one of those tracks again, and I thought, hey, that’s me! Slave was it called? Yeah, they could get funky, those guys!”
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