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Rolling Stones unreleased: Goodbye to Love
Written by: Shapiro/Mann Recorded: Blue Wave Studios, Barbados, Apr. 20-May 1993 (Voodoo Lounge sessions)
From Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012: Written by Barry Mann and Joe Shapiro and recorded by The Chantels and The Marcels in the early ’60s. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards combine on vocals and guitars.
Long before Voodoo Lounge hit the shelves in 1994, The Rolling Stones were already shaping its spirit under the Caribbean sun. In the spring of 1993, at Blue Wave Studios in Barbados, they recorded an intriguing outtake titled Goodbye to Love. Though it never made the album, the track offers a glimpse into a moment of creative freedom and exploration. Penned by Barry Mann and Joe Shapiro—songwriters behind several early ’60s pop classics—the song had previously been performed by The Chantels and The Marcels.
The Stones’ version added a smoky, blues-inflected twist, with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sharing vocals and guitars in an intimate performance that blurred the line between nostalgia and reinvention. It’s the kind of track that reminds listeners how easily the band could bend time—turning vintage melodies into something unmistakably their own.
Echoes of the early ’60s
What makes Goodbye to Love so fascinating is its connection to the roots of rock and soul that first inspired The Rolling Stones. By revisiting a tune from the same era that birthed them, Jagger and Richards seemed to pay quiet homage to the sounds that shaped their earliest days. The recording, tucked away among the Voodoo Lounge sessions, bridges decades of musical evolution—from smoky R&B clubs to stadium stages. Though the song remains officially unreleased, its very existence reflects a recurring theme in the Stones’ history: a restless curiosity that never fades. Goodbye to Love isn’t just an outtake—it’s a hidden echo of where they came from, and a fleeting reminder of how the past continually fuels their creative fire.
