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Rolling Stones songs: Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind

SOME THINGS STICK… SAY THE ROLLING STONES IN 1964
Before they became rock legends, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were penning catchy tunes that often ended up in other artists’ hands. Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind kicked off in 1964, first recorded by Dick and Dee Dee, and oozed sweet pop charm with wistful lyrics. A forgotten gem from the Stones’ early days, it’s a peek at the duo’s songwriting sparks before the band truly hit their stride.

Why does the rain fall down on the earth/ Why do the clouds keep cryin’…

Written by: Jagger/Richard
Recorded: Regent Sounds Studios and Decca Studios, London, England, July 1-10 1964
Guest musicians: Jim Sullivan (guitar) plus unconfirmed overdubs by Jon Tiven (guitar), Doug Schlink (guitar), Paul Ossola (bass), Vic Steffens (drums) and Christine Ohlman (backing vocals)
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

More about Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind by The Rolling Stones

*By Marcelo Sonaglioni

A Song That Wouldn’t Let Go

In the early 1960s, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were still learning the ropes of songwriting, crafting tunes that often drifted away to other voices before The Rolling Stones had truly found theirs. One of these early creations, Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind, began its journey in 1964 and would go on to live several quiet but fascinating lives. Recorded first by the American duo Dick and Dee Dee—who had opened for the Stones on their debut U.S. tour—it carried a gentle pop charm wrapped in wistful lyrics.

A few months later, a young British singer named Vashti Bunyan took the song for her debut single, with Nicky Hopkins adding a dreamy piano touch and Jimmy Page strumming his 12-string guitar during his prolific session days. Though it passed almost unnoticed in its time, Bunyan’s version would later reappear as a cherished rediscovery of the 2000s folk revival.

Studio Ghosts and the Sound of Experimentation

According to various sources Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind was recorded either on February 13 or between June 29 and July 7, 1964. Yet, despite Jagger’s unmistakable voice, few of the Stones were likely present. The track’s instrumentation—lush, ornate, and heavily arranged—suggests a studio creation under the supervision of producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Session musicians, not the usual Stones lineup, built its sonic world. Jimmy Page, or possibly John McLaughlin, handled the sparkling acoustic guitar; Big Jim Sullivan (well-known in France for his guitar work on the 1969 Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin hit Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus, as well as on Gainsbourg’s iconic 1971 album Histoire de Melody Nelson) added pedal steel warmth, while Mike Leander’s arrangement layered percussion, bongos, and a reverb-soaked piano. The result echoed Phil Spector’s “wall of sound,” an influence that Oldham admired deeply. This lush but restrained style offered a glimpse into how the Stones might have sounded had they leaned further into pop rather than the raw R&B edge that soon defined them.

Missteps, Misprints, and Musical Curiosities

The song later surfaced on Metamorphosis (1975), a collection of outtakes and demos issued by ABKCO. Like many tracks on that album, it wasn’t truly a “Rolling Stones” performance but rather a Jagger-fronted experiment padded with session players. Critics often dismissed it as lightweight British pop—pleasant but far from the band’s authentic swagger. Still, its lyrical musings on innocence and youthful wonder—”Why does the sky turn gray every night?“—show the seeds of the reflective tone later perfected in As Tears Go By. To this day, fans note the amusing typo that persisted on the Metamorphosis cover: “Somethings” instead of “Some Things.” Perhaps fittingly, a small mistake that, like the song itself, just seems to stick in your mind.

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