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The Rolling Stones didn’t just borrow Chuck Berry’s Talkin’ About You—they slowed it down, thickened the groove, and gave the song a Stonesy swagger. Recorded in Hollywood in 1965, their version finds Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones turning a rock ’n’ roll number into something looser and moodier. It may not rank among their most celebrated Berry covers, but that is precisely what makes it worth another listen. Beneath the straightforward love-song lyrics, the arrangement reveals a band already stretching beyond imitation and figuring out how to make borrowed material sound unmistakably their own.
Let me tell you ’bout a girl I know/ Help me know she looks so good…
Written by: Chuck Berry Recorded: RCA Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Sept. 5 1965
Mick Jagger: vocals Keith Richards; guitar, backing vocals Brian Jones: guitar Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Guest musicians: Ian Stewart (piano)
More about The Rolling Stones’ take on Talkin’ About You
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
A Song With A Twist
Talkin’ About You begins as a deceptively simple conversation. The narrator tells a young woman about a beautiful girl he has spotted uptown, praising her skin and suggesting she belongs somewhere in Hollywood. Then comes the reveal: the woman he has been describing is actually sitting beside him, and he wants her as his girlfriend. Chuck Berry turned that playful setup into a direct declaration of attraction, pairing the romantic lyric with a rock ’n’ roll arrangement that sounds unmistakably like him. Released as a single in 1961, with Little Star on the B-side, the song should not be confused with Ray Charles’ Talkin’ About You, released in 1958. Berry’s recording later became fertile ground for British groups discovering how much could be done with a few powerful guitar phrases.
From Chuck Berry to The Stones
Chuck Berry was one of the defining influences on the British groups that emerged in the early sixties. His guitar work on songs such as Johnny B. Goode, Caroland Roll Over Beethoven became part of the vocabulary that young musicians absorbed, copied, and eventually reshaped. The Beatles were already performing I’m Talking About You at the Star Club in Hamburg as early as 1962, demonstrating how quickly Berry’s material had entered the live repertoire of British rock bands.
The Rolling Stones followed a similar path. Rather than approaching the song as an unfamiliar studio exercise, they had already been playing Talkin’ About You onstage since the beginning of 1964. By the time they recorded it in 1965, the number had therefore been tested repeatedly in front of audiences. That experience allowed the band to approach Berry’s composition from a distinctly Stones perspective instead of simply reproducing the original.
A Heavier Stones Groove
The biggest change is immediately apparent in the tempo. Where Chuck Berry’s recording moves at roughly 148 beats per minute, The Rolling Stones brought it down to around 120. That decision transforms the character of the song. Instead of the brisk momentum associated with Berry’s rock ’n’ roll, the Stones create something heavier, more insistent, and closer to rhythm and blues.
The arrangement works because each musician contributes without overcrowding the performance. Bill Wyman becomes particularly prominent, producing a large bass sound from his Framus Humbug plugged into a Fender Bassman amp. Charlie Watts takes the opposite approach, keeping the beat from becoming overly forceful with an airy, funky style. The result gives the track an understated swing rather than a straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll attack.
Keith Richards Leads the Charge
Keith Richards opens the performance with an intro that closely follows Chuck Berry’s original guitar figure. He then settles into the rhythm part before taking a solo, while Brian Jones adds a second, restrained rhythm guitar. Jones appears to use power chords on his Gibson Firebird VII, providing support without competing with Richards.
Mick Jagger delivers the vocal with the confidence expected from the band’s front man, while Richards contributes backing vocals. Ian Stewart’s piano can also be heard in the arrangement. Together, these elements push the recording away from Berry’s straightforward rock ’n’ roll and toward a darker rhythm ’n’ blues interpretation.
The Bass Line Worth Hearing
Ironically Talkin’ About You is not generally regarded as one of The Rolling Stones’ strongest Berry interpretations. The band had become increasingly effective at transforming their influences, yet this particular recording remains fairly close to its source in some important respects. Its most fascinating detail may actually be hidden underneath the guitars.
Bill Wyman’s bass part closely follows the bass line heard on Chuck Berry’s recording, most likely played by Reggie Boyd. That connection reaches even further: Paul McCartney used essentially the same bass line on I Saw Her Standing There, the opening track of the Beatles’ Please Please Me. For Stones addicts, that makes the recording more interesting than its reputation might suggest.
The Stones’ version appeared on Out of Our Heads in the UK and December’s Children (And Everybody’s) in the US. And while the arrangement may not surpass Berry’s original, Keith Richards’ opening guitar lick remains a standout moment—six notes that help explain why this relatively overlooked cover still deserves another listen.
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