This song was on the forgotten Black and Blue album. My all-time favorite Stones song is on that album…Memory Motel.
This album was made when the best guitarist the Stones ever had…left them. That’s no knock on Keith, Brian, or soon-to-be Ronnie Wood at this time…Mick Taylor was just that good. He was on 4 of the 5 classic albums they are mostly known for. Another significant person left before Taylor did…Jimmy Miller produced the albums Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, and Goats Head Soup. He was the most important producer they worked with. He gave them a sound that they did not have before.
Ronnie Wood is not the guitar player in this song. They were auditioning guitar players on this album. The three guitar players were Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandel, and Ronnie Wood. Wayne Perkins, a super-session player, was the lead guitar player on this song. He didn’t get the job because he was from Alabama. Keith said that was hard to get over because they wanted the Stones to remain an English band. Wayne Perkins was probably the best guitar player they auditioned…but Ronnie Wood looked the part and fit in.
The album was not as well received but still peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, #2 in the UK, and #4 in New Zealand in 1976.
Fool To Cry peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, #6 in the UK, and #38 in New Zealand.
Mick Jagger has said of this song: This dates from the period when I had a young child, my daughter Jade, around a lot, calling me daddy and all that. It’s another of our heartmelting ballads, a bit long and waffly at the end maybe, but I like it.
Keith Richards: “I was just glad somebody in the band could sing that falsetto. I got a pretty good falsetto myself. But when you got a singer and he can hit those notes, baby go for it. And Mick was always fascinated with the falsetto Soul singers like Aaron Neville. That’s crafty stuff, you know what I mean? But he’d been listening to so many people. It’s kinda like what goes in, will come out. You’ll just hear a phrase or a piece of music. And one way or another it’s part of your experience. And a lot of the time it comes out what you do without even realizing it. I don’t really like to think about these things too much. It’s more to do with feeling than intellectualizing about it.”
Keith Richards: Ronnie wasn’t necessarily a shoo-in as our new guitarist, despite our closeness at the time. He was still, for one thing, a member of the Faces. We tried other players before him–Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandel. Both great players, both of them are on Black and Blue. Ronnie turned up as the last one, and it was really a toss-up. We liked Perkins a lot. He was a lovely player, same style, which wouldn’t have ricocheted against what Mick Taylor was doing, very melodic, very well-played stuff. Then Ronnie said he had problems with the Faces. So it came down to Wayne and Ronnie. Ronnie’s an all-rounder. He can play loads of things and different styles, and I’d just been playing with him for some weeks, so the chips fell there. It wasn’t so much the playing, when it came down to it. It came down to the fact that Ronnie was English! Well, it is an English band, although you might not think that now. And we all felt we should retain the nationality of the band at the time. Because when you get on the road, and it’s “Have you heard this one?,” you’ve all got the same backgrounds. Because of being London-born, Ronnie and I already had a built-in closeness, a kind of code, and we could be cool together under stress, like two squaddies. Ronnie was damn good glue for the band. He was a breath of fresh air. We knew he’d got his chops, we knew he could play, but a big decider was his incredible enthusiasm and ability to get along with everybody. Mick Taylor was always a bit morose. You’ll not see Mick Taylor lying on the floor, holding his stomach, cracking up with laughter for anything. Whereas Ronnie would have his legs in the air.
Fool To Cry
When I come home baby
And I’ve been working all night long
I put my daughter on my knee, and she says
Daddy what’s wrong?
She whispers in my ear so sweet
You know what she says, she says
Ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
You’re a fool to cry
And it makes me wonder why
Daddy you’re a fool
You know, I got a woman (daddy you’re a fool)
And she lives in the poor part of town
And I go see her sometimes
And we make love, so fine
I put my head on her shoulder
She says, tell me all your troubles
You know what she says?
She says, ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
You’re a fool to cry
And it makes me wonder why
Daddy you’re a fool to cry
Yeah, she says
Oh, Daddy you’re a fool to cry
You’re a fool to cry
And it makes me wonder why
She says, ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
Ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
Ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
Ooh, daddy you’re a fool to cry
Even my friends say to me sometimes
And make out like I don’t understand them
You know what they say?
They say, ooh daddy you’re a fool to cry
You’re a fool to cry
And it makes me wonder why, ah
I’m a fool baby, ah ya
I’m a certified fool, ah yeah
Gotta tell ya, baby
I’m a fool baby, ah yeah
Whoo
Certified fool for ya, mama, ya, yeah, come on, yeah
I’m a fool, yeah
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Terrific song, this.
Im glad they went for Ronnie. He’s been the perfect fit. And much as I love both Rory Gallagher and Roy Buchanan, I’m glad it didn’t work out with either for one reason or another.
😃
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I just wish Taylor could have stayed…but yes…Ronnie fits them perfectly I agree.
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Always liked this one a lot, though I imagine many RS fans aren’t fond of it. I didn’t know about the guitarist auditions on it. Quite a coup for Perkins to have a credit on a Rolling Stones song, even though he didn’t get chosen
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It’s such an odd album although I like it…it wasn’t like the past albums they had. It was probably because they had different guitar players on it.
Yea I’ve always liked this song.
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I actually address the concept a wee bit in a post two days from now, how bands eventually start putting out records the fans don’t want to hear basically just to satisfy themselves or else justify a tour. I think the Stones weren’t there yet at this point, still putting out new music fans really were excited about. That might have slowed down considerably after ‘Tattoo You’
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For me…Tattoo You was their last brush with greatness…and they used songs from the Mick Taylor era.
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Very cool Max!
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Your right this is the forgotten album by The Stones. I always liked this album especially that track Memory Motel and Fool To Cry. Need to pull this one out dude …
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It’s a good album…I think overlooked… it’s not Sticky Fingers but what is?
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Stones from last night in Orlando.
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That is cool…I probably will miss them this time. I saw them last in 2006
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I don’t think their new stuff is that good, as Angry would have been nothing more than an album filler in their better years.
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The only original vinyl albums I have are those Jimmy Miller produced one’s that you’ve listed. I’ve a few compilation and live cd’s. I’ve always liked the single; ‘Fool To Cry’
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Without Jimmy Miller…they would not be the Stones as we know them.
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This album was a major step dip for me. Now their albums weren’t a full two sides worth of LISTENING to each song anymore, now you picked out the a handful of the best. After ‘Dirty Work’ and covering ‘Tail Feather’ their best was getting hard to find. A few gems, but now down to one, maybe two per album for me. I do like ‘Angry’ and ‘Hackney’ though.
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Dirty Work and Undercover of the Night…or whatever it was called…I didn’t like too much off of either. The Stones should not be a club dance band.
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Nah, leave the dancing the Bee Gees and Travolta.
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I have to admit I’m one of the Stones listeners who tend to forget about “Black and Blue.”
I first heard “Fool to Cry” on the 1984 greatest hits compilation “Rewind”, which I had on vinyl. While it’s never been among my favorites, I’ve always thought “Fool to Cry” is a pretty decent song. I also like the funky opener “Hot Stuff.”
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I liked Hot Stuff as well…it was different….this one, Hot Stuff, and Memory Motel were the three probably remembered best.
It doesn’t sound as cohesive….and thats because we have different guitar players drifting in and out.
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Something in Mick’s falsetto doesn’t work for me here. But it’s not a bad song, just forgotten among their other 70s hits.
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He used it on Tattoo You also…but they were mostly older songs redone. Maybe I like this one becasue I dont hear it all of the time…thats probably part of it’s appeal.
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Certainly up there on my list of favorite Stones songs. Did not know Perkins played on this I’d always assumed there was a clean break-recording wise anyway.
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It really made the album feel a little disjointed when so many different musicians played on it…but I do like it.
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Thanks for bringing this song back to me. Interesting info on how Ronnie came to be with them. After reading what Keith said in the 2nd quote, can’t say that I blame them.
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Oh he fit in with Keith and looked the part no doubt. It’s not a song you hear everyday…
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No it isn’t! Great find.
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