Connection (Rolling Stones song)
"Connection" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1967 album Between the Buttons. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, features vocals by both and is said to be about the long hours the band spent in airports. The lyrics contain much rhyming based on the word connection. The lyrics also reflect the pressures the band was under by 1967:
The song was written before Jagger, Richards and fellow Rolling Stone Brian Jones were arrested by the police for drugs.
Although never released as a single, it has been a popular live song. The song itself is built on a very simple chord progression, a repetitive drum pattern, Chuck Berry-like lead guitar from Richards, the piano of Jack Nitzsche, tambourine and organ pedals by multi-instrumentalist Jones, and bass by Wyman. Jagger, Jones and Wyman later overdubbed handclaps. Jagger said in 1967, "That's me beating my hands on the bass drum."
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger – harmony vocal, tambourine, bass drum
- Keith Richards – lead vocal, lead guitar, bass
- Charlie Watts – snare drum
- Unidentified musicians – handclaps
- Jack Nitzsche – piano, organ pedals
Performances
The song was performed by Richards during his 1988 solo tour and during shows on the Stones' 1995 leg of the Voodoo Lounge Tour and the 2006 A Bigger Bang Tour throughout North America. "Connection" is also featured in the 2008 Martin Scorsese film Shine a Light and on the accompanying soundtrack album.Cover versions
"Connection" has been covered by American rock and roll band The Connection, on their album Let It Rock, Marble Phrogg, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Montrose, Arlo Guthrie, Eddie and the Subtitles and Everclear. In December 2024, Susanna Hoffs and Elvis Costello collaborated on a version to celebrate Keith Richards' 81st birthday.This song was performed many times by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, with Jerry Garcia and Marmaduke Dawson singing.