The Rolling Stones EP

The Rolling Stones is the debut EP released by The Rolling Stones in January 1964. It was released both to capitalise on their first Top 20 hit "I Wanna Be Your Man" and to test the commercial appeal of the band before their UK label Decca Records would commit to letting them record an album. The Rolling Stones includes four songs recorded at two separate sessions in August and November 1963.

The Rolling Stones features R&B covers of some of the band's favorite artists, and some recent American hits. Eric Easton is officially listed as the EP's producer. Andrew Loog Oldham produced the opening track "Bye Bye Johnny", a Chuck Berry original.




Despite the rawness of the production, the EP reached #1 in the UK EP charts. "Bye Bye Johnny" and "Money" would not see official US release until 1972's retrospective More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies); "Money (That's What I Want)" is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise.



"You Better Move On" is a song by Arthur Alexander from 1961 that reached #24 on the US charts in March 1962. Rolling Stones version of "You Better Move On" was first released on 17 January 1964, on the EP, The Rolling Stones (EP). It was also on the US album, December's Children (And Everybody's), released in 1965.



The EP was released in Canada in 1964 by London Records Canada. The release was identical the U.K. version lncluding the picture sleeve along with the British label number DFE 8560. The Canadian EP pressing also used British stampers.

Unavailable for decades, The Rolling Stones was reissued on Compact Disc in 2004 on the Singles 1963–1965 box set through ABKCO Records. In November 2010, it was also made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set, titled "The Rolling Stones 1964-1969" and as a download on the iTunes Music Store.