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A Bitter Sweet Story |
| This Maybe The Last Time | The Staple Singers |
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A gospel song from 1955 by The Staple Singers. It's a traditional song recorded by many artists
with no-one owning the rights to it. However, when the Stones recorded it in 1965, many Gospel fans
felt The Stones ripped it off as it was based on their version of the song, and the Staple Singers
never received any royalties. Because The Stones were a highly successful band, reworking many songs
by black artists into hits, it was felt The Staple Singers should have been compensated.
| The Last Time | The Rolling Stones |
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Although this song is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is heavily based on a
traditional gospel song first recorded by the Staple Singers. The Stones changed the meaning
of the song; the Staple Singers version was more uplifting and spiritual. It was recorded in
Los Angeles in 1965 with the help of Phil Spector and reached No.1 in the Uk and No.9 in the US.
| The Last Time | Andrew Loog Oldham |
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On 3 June 1966, The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra released a vinyl LP entitled The Rolling Stones
Songbook which featured 10 orchestral versions of The Stones songs, including The Last Time. Decca reissued
this album in CD format in 2004. | Bitter Sweet Symphony | The Verve |
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Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve was released on 16 June 1997 and reached No.2 in the Uk charts
and No.11 in the US. It was taken from their highly acclaimed album Urban Hymns which was
released on 29 Sept 1997.
Former Rolling Stones manager, Allen Klein, sued The Verve for using a sample of
The Andrew Oldham Orchestra recording in the song. While The Verve
had previously been granted permission to use the sample, Klein decided, shortly before the
song's release, that the band had used more of the sample than had been agreed. He demanded
100% of the royalties and sued The Verve on behalf of ABKCo Records, who own the rights to
all the Stones material from the 1960's. The Verve settled out of court, relinquisting all
writing credits to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards despite the fact neither of them wrote one
single word of the song.
This now timeless classic was hugely successful and opened doors for the band, yet in itself
didn't earn them a penny.
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Here The Verve perform Bitter Sweet Symphony at Glastonbury 2008.
Bitter Sweet Symphony
Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony, this life |