Released 5 December 1969 Genre Blues
country blues Writer(s) Jagger/Richards | Recorded 18 February 1969 Length 2:50 | |
Label Decca/ABKCO (UK)
ABKCO (US) | ||
"You Got the Silver" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was also released as the B-side to the "Let It Bleed" single in Japan.
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Recorded on 18 February 1969, "You Got the Silver" is the first Stones song to feature guitarist Keith Richards on solo lead vocal throughout (Richards previously sang separate lead vocals on parts of "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" from Between the Buttons and "Salt of the Earth" from Beggars Banquet). One of Richards' own compositions, "You Got the Silver" is said to have been written about his then-girlfriend Anita Pallenberg.
"You Got the Silver" was the last Stones recording with Brian Jones to be released. He plays autoharp, one of his two appearances on the album. The band recorded a version of the song with Jagger on lead, but opted to use Richards' version for the official release. The Jagger version has since become a well-known bootleg recording. Jones' autoharp contribution can only be heard clearly on the alternate mix with Jagger on vocals and it is played only during the section of the verses where the drums join in. Wyman's bass playing also stands out more in the unreleased alternate mix. The official/album mix has the autoharp either mixed very low or removed completely in favor of Nicky Hopkins' organ and piano overdubs and adds a backwards echo effect applied to Richards' slide guitar track.
The song was played live for the first time during the No Security Tour in 1999. It was brought out again by Richards for the 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang Tour. A November 1, 2006 live performance captured on the 2008 concert film Shine a Light is featured on the album of the same name. The song was also played during the Rolling Stones' 50 and Counting tour, and a July 2013 performance appears on Hyde Park Live, featuring Ronnie Wood playing slide guitar. During live performances, the song is highly notable for being sung by Richards without playing guitar or any other instrument.
"You Got the Silver" was featured in the Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriskie Point.
Personnel
Cover versions
The song was covered by blues singer Susan Tedeschi on her 2005 album, Hope and Desire and by neo-bluegrass group Crooked Still on its 2010 album, Some Strange Country.