The Last Time

“The Last Time”
Single by The Rolling Stones from the album Out of Our Heads
B-side	Play with Fire
Released	February 26, 1965 (UK) March 13, 1965 (US)
Format	7"
Recorded	January 11 & 12, 1965, RCA Studios, Hollywood
Genre	Rock
Length	3:41
Label	Decca F12104 (UK)/London 45-LON 9741 (USA)
Writer(s)	Jagger/Richards
Producer	Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Heart of Stone" (1964) "The Last Time" (1965) "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965)

"The Last Time" is a song by the British rock 'n roll band The Rolling Stones. This was the first Rolling Stones single written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to reach # 1 in the UK.

"The Last Time" was recorded in Los Angeles in early 1965 with the assistance of Phil Spector, whose producing style can be heard throughout the track. Released in early 1965, "The Last Time" reached # 1 in the U.K. and # 9 in the U.S. It is rumored that Brian Jones invented the main guitar riff of the song (which repeats throughout the song - one of the first pop songs to do this.) A performance of this song by the Stones is one of the few recordings from the early years of the popular British music television show Top of the Pops to still exist, and is therefore often shown on nostalgia shows in the UK (most early TOTP performances have long been wiped).

Although the song is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is said to be heavily based on a traditional gospel song called "This Could Be The Last Time" first recorded by the Staple Singers.

In 1967, The Who rush-recorded a version of this song along with "Under My Thumb", reportedly to show support for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who were being detained in England for alleged drug possession. The day the single was released, however, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were released from prison.

In 1997, former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham 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". While the Verve had worked out an agreement to use the sample, Oldham successfully argued that the band used more than the amount they had legally agreed upon. This led to Allen Klein suing the Verve on behalf of his ABKCO Records, which owns the rights to all Stones material from the 1960s. Before the suit could reach courts, the Verve settled out of court, eventually relinquishing all writing credits to Jagger and Richards, even though they didn't write one line of verse.

A fan favorite and popular song in the Stones' canon, it was only performed live during its inception on the 1965-67 tours. It was left off the band's setlists thereafter until being dusted off for the 1997-98 Bridges to Babylon Tour

Selected list of recorded versions

Many bands have recorded renditions and covered this song over the years.

• The Rolling Stones (July 30, 1965)
• Homer and the Dont's (1965)
• The Pupils (1966)
• Sceptres (1966)
• The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra (June 3, 1966)
• The Who (July 1967)
• Smith (July 1969)
• Dada (1971)
• Bobby Bare (1978)
• Bruce Springsteen (1978)
• The Sonics (1978)
• Cosmetics (1982)
• Chelsea (1984)
• The Damned (1988)
• 3 Imaginary Boys (1990)
• Fury In The Slaughterhouse (1990)
• Count Five (1991)
• Bruce Salzmann & The Losers (1994)
• Cathedral City Project (1994)
• Songrise Orchestra (1994)
• The Tractors (1997)
• Dwight Yoakam (1997)
• Innovations (March 24, 1998)
• Catch 23 (1999)
• The Pharaohs (January 16, 2001)
• Jimmy Nail (2001)
• John Farnham (2002)
• Phish (2002)
• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2003)
• John Batdorf & James Lee Stanley (2005)
• Billy Bragg (2006)
• New Riders of the Purple Sage (2006)
• Nena (2007)