The Rolling Stones "Paint It, Black (Single & Video)"

"Paint It Black" (originally released as "Paint It, Black") is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Jointly credited to the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was first released as a single on 7 May 1966, and later included as the opening track to the US version of their 1966 album Aftermath. The song reached No. 1 in both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's third No.1 hit single in the US and sixth in the UK.

Since its initial release, the song has remained influential as the first number-one hit featuring a sitar, particularly in the UK, where it has charted on two other occasions, and has been the subject of multiple cover versions, compilation albums and film appearances.

It is one of the band's most popular songs and is on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018 and it is the 79th best ranked song on critics' all-time lists according to Acclaimed Music.

The song's lyrics are, for the most part, meant to describe depression through the use of colour-based metaphors. Initially, "Paint It Black" was written as a standard pop arrangement, humorously compared by Mick Jagger to "Songs for Jewish weddings". The song describes the extreme grief suffered by one stunned by the sudden and unexpected loss of a wife, lover or partner. It is often claimed that Jagger took inspiration from novelist James Joyce's 1922 book Ulysses, taking the excerpt "I have to turn my head until my darkness goes", referring to the novel's theme of a worldwide view of desperation and desolation. It was the first song to feature a sitar to peak No. 1 in the United States.

"Paint It Black" came at a pivotal period in the Rolling Stones' recording history, a time that saw the songwriting collaboration of Jagger and Richards assert itself as the principal composer of the band's original material. This is evident from the sessions for the album Aftermath, where for the first time the duo penned the complete track list. In addition, Jones, overshadowed by Jagger and Richards, grew bored with attempting to write songs, as well as conventional guitar melodies. To alleviate the boredom, Jones explored eastern instruments, more specifically the sitar, to bolster the group's musical texture and complexity. A multi-instrumentalist, Jones was able to develop a tune from the sitar in a short amount of time; Jones had a background with the instrument as far back as 1961, largely due to his studies under Harihar Rao, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. Not long after a discussion with George Harrison, who had recently recorded sitar on "Norwegian Wood", Jones arranged basic melodies with the instrument that, over time, morphed into the one featured in "Paint It Black".

In a 1995 interview, when commenting on the musical styles found on Aftermath, Jagger described "Paint It Black" as a "kind of Turkish song". According to the music scholar James E. Perone, while the introductory sitar passage is played in an Indian fashion, "the rhythmic and melodic feel of the Eastern-sounding phrases actually call to mind the Middle East more than India." He adds that the lyrical content – a character "so entrenched in his depression and rage that he has lost all hope" – establishes the concept for Aftermath's American edition, with each of the following songs offering insight into "the darkness of his psyche".

The master take of "Paint It Black" was recorded on 8 March 1966, at RCA Studios in Los Angeles, with record producer Andrew Loog Oldham present throughout the process. Much of the early recorded arrangements, and keys of the track were modeled after The Animals' version of "The House of the Rising Sun", but The Rolling Stones were dissatisfied with the song, and considered scrapping it. However, while twiddling with a Hammond organ, Bill Wyman searched for a heavier bass sound, while playing the part on his knees. Wyman's playing clicked with the group, and inspired the up-tempo and Eastern pentatonic melody. By all accounts, the sitar was brought into the mix when Harihar Rao happened to walk in the studio with the instrument in hand.

In his book Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones, Paul Trynka has noted that the influence of Harrison's sitar playing, and, in particular, the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood" on the Rubber Soul album, draws parallels in "Paint It Black"—most noticeably in Jones' droning sitar melody. In response to claims that he was merely imitating the Beatles, however, Jones said: "What utter rubbish!" His sitar part on the track immediately became influential in developing a whole subgenre of minor-key psychedelic music. The striking motif on the sitar is complemented by Jagger's droning, and slight nasal singing. In addition, "Paint It Black" was highlighted by Wyman's heavy bass, Charlie Watts's low-pitch drumming, and Richards' bolero-driven acoustic guitar outro.

Soon after the recording session, Richards noted that the conclusion of the track was over-recorded, and that a different guitar could have potentially improved the song.

"Paint It Black" is considered by Rolling Stone to be the Rolling Stones' sixth greatest song of all time and is ranked number 176 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.According to Acclaimed Music, it is the 79th most celebrated song in popular music. In 2018, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.