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The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during their 1965 tour of the United States. The song was recorded during the Aftermath sessions between 3 and 8 December 1965 at RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, at the conclusion of their fourth North American tour. The song talks of a difficult, spoiled girl who cannot appreciate life. Mick Jagger says he came up with the title first, and then wrote the lyrics around the title. It was released as a single on 4 February 1966 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and in the United Kingdom Record Retailer chart. However, it hit #1 in the NME chart and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart, both of which were more widely recognised in Britain at the time. The hypnotic riff Brian Jones is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley's song "Diddley Daddy," Diddley being a major influence on the Rolling Stones' style. The song is also well-known for Bill Wyman's so-called "dive-bombing" bass line at the end of the song. Like many early Rolling Stones recordings, "19th Nervous Breakdown" has been officially released only in mono sound. A stereo mix of the song has turned up in private and bootleg collections. One version of the stereo mix features a radically different vocal from Jagger, who alternates between mellow on the verses and rawer on the chorus. This was one of three songs ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "As Tears Go By" being the other two) the Rolling Stones performed on their Ed Sullivan Show appearance in February 1966. The Monkees' Song, "Your Auntie Grizelda", written in 1966, was influenced by the Rolling Stones' song "19th Nervous Breakdown" Tom Verlaine, lead guitarist and songwriter of Television, noted that hearing this song during his adolescence inspired him to pick up the guitar. |
