"The Last Time" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones featuring the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, and the band's first original song released as an A-single in the UK. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California in January 1965, "The Last Time" was the band's third UK single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top in March and early April 1965. It reached number two in the Irish Singles Chart in March 1965, and was released on the US version of the album Out of Our Heads on 30 July 1965.
Composition
Although "The Last Time" is credited to Jagger/Richards, the song's refrain is identical, in melody and lyrics, to "This May Be the Last Time", a traditional gospel song recorded in 1954 by the Staple Singers. In 2003, Richards acknowledged this, saying, "We came up with 'The Last Time', which was basically re-adapting a traditional gospel song that had been sung by the Staple Singers, but luckily the song itself goes back into the mists of time." The Rolling Stones' song has a main melody and a hook (a distinctive guitar riff) that were both absent in the Staple Singers' version. Phil Spector, whose "Wall of Sound" approach can be heard on the recording, assisted with the production.
Cash Box described it as "a raunchy, hard-driving romantic blueser about a twosome who are destined to split up".
Live performance
Footage exists of a number of performances of this song by the Rolling Stones in 1965: from the popular BBC-TV music show Top of the Pops, the 1965 New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert and American TV shows including The Ed Sullivan Show and Shindig!. A full live performance is also prominently featured in the 2012 re-edit of the 1965 documentary Charlie Is My Darling. The footage confirms that the rhythm chords and guitar solo were played by Keith Richards, while the song's distinctive hook was played by Brian Jones. In the August 1965 issue of Beat Instrumental, in reply to the question of "who plays the prominent figure on The Stones releases?", Keith Richards said "I played it on 'Satisfaction', Brian played it on 'The Last Time'. It all depends who thinks it up."
A popular song in the Stones' canon, it was regularly performed in concert during the band's 1965, 1966 and 1967 tours. It was left off their concert set lists until 1997–98, when it reappeared on the Bridges to Babylon Tour. It later appeared on some of the band's set lists in 2012–13 on the 50 & Counting tour.
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:
The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger lead vocal
Keith Richards backing vocals, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar (solo) Brian Jones lead guitar (riff) Bill Wyman bass Charlie Watts drums
Additional personnel
Jack Nitzsche tambourine
Charts
The Andrew Oldham Orchestra version
In 1965, the Andrew Oldham Orchestra recorded the song for the album The Rolling Stones Songbook. The recording and its distinctive passage for strings was written and arranged by David Whitaker.
Copyright issue
In 1997, former Rolling Stones business manager Allen Klein, whose company ABKCO Records owns the rights to all Rolling Stones material from the 1960s, sued English rock band the Verve for using a sample of the Andrew Oldham Orchestra recording of "The Last Time" in their hit song "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The Verve had obtained a licence to use the sample, but Klein successfully argued that the band used more than the licence covered. The Verve were required to relinquish 100% of their royalties from their hit song to ABKCO and the songwriting credit was changed to Jagger/Richards/Ashcroft. This led to Andrew Loog Oldham, who owns the copyright on the orchestral rendition that was sampled, also suing the Verve.
In May 2019, Richard Ashcroft announced that the Stones had handed over their copyrights on the song to him.
The Who version
In 1967, after the imprisonment of Jagger and Richards on drugs charges, the Who recorded "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" as a single. The Who announced in an advertisement for the single: The songs were rush recorded and the record appeared in shops in only one week. However, by the time the single was made available, Jagger and Richards had been released. As John Entwistle was away on his honeymoon he authorised the Who to do the record without him and bass parts were overdubbed by Pete Townshend. The UK-only release reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.