Released 24 September 1965 Length 2:24 Writer(s) Jagger/Richards | Genre Rock Label London 45-LON 9792 | |
Recorded 6 September 1965
RCA Studios, Hollywood | ||
"I'm Free" is a song by The Rolling Stones written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, first released as the final track on the UK Out of Our Heads album on 24 September 1965. It was later placed on the December's Children (And Everybody's) album in the United States.
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The Rolling Stones recorded a re-worked acoustic version for their 1995 album Stripped, and performed a live version in the 2008 film Shine a Light, which was included on the accompanying live album.
The original vinyl bootleg Live'r Than You'll Ever Be included a live version recorded in Oakland, California, in November 1969.
The song uses a line from The Beatles' 1964 song "Eight Days a Week": "Hold me, love me, hold me, love me."
Cover versions
The song has been covered by several artists, including Chris Farlowe on his album The Art of Chris Farlowe (1966); Wilmer and the Dukes, who made it a regional hit in upper New York state in 1969; and by the Scottish alternative rock/dance band The Soup Dragons featuring Junior Reid, whose version reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart and No.79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. The Soup Dragons version featured in the film The World's End.
In 2007 a remixed version of the original recording was used in a television commercial for the Chase Freedom credit card and in 2008 it was used in a UK commercial for a Renault SUV.
In 2016 Pitbull sampled The Soup Dragons 1990 version for his new single "Freedom."