1964: The Rolling Stones’ Debut LP Released In England

1964: The Rolling Stones’ debut LP released in England. Phil Spector and Gene Pitney showed up for the session that produced the album’s opening track “Not Fade Away” (Phil plays maracas) plus “Now I’ve Got A Witness” and “Little By Little” (which Phil co-wrote). Two out-takes, “Mr. Spector and Mr. Pitney Came Too” and “Andrew’s Blues,” were also recorded. The following year, a loose 4 a.m. session at RCA studios in Hollywood has Phil playing bass, Jack Nitzsche playing harpsichord, Keith Richards playing acoustic guitar and Mick Jagger singing. The song becomes “Play With Fire,” which in retrospect Andrew Loog Oldham signified as the moment The Rolling Stones’ songwriting took a giant leap forward toward the dynamics of their mid-’60s psychedelic material.