Tumbling Dice The Rolling Stones' 1972

"Tumbling Dice" is a rock song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for The Rolling Stones' 1972 double album Exile on Main St., and was the album's first single. The single peaked at #7 on the US charts and #5 in the UK.

The lyrics tell the story of a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman. Cover versions have been created in such diverse styles as reggae, bluegrass and noise rock. An updated version from a female perspective was also a top 40 single for Linda Ronstadt in 1978 which is included in the film FM.

Recording"Good Time Woman", an early version of "Tumbling Dice", was recorded during the sessions for Sticky Fingers.[1] The song is a bluesy boogie-woogie heavy on Ian Stewart's piano work. The two songs are similar in structure in that they have the same chord progression and a similar melody. Also, Jagger sings the hook to the accompaniment of Richards' lone lead guitar. However, "Good Time Woman" lacked an opening riff, a background choir and the beat which propels "Tumbling Dice"'s groove.

"Tumbling Dice" was recorded in the basement of the chateau Villa Nellcôte, near Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. The recording schedule for Exile on Main St. had the band sleeping all day and recording with whoever was around at night. Both Charlie Watts and producer Jimmy Miller play the drums simultaneously on the album's version of the song. The basic track of the song was recorded on 3 August 1971. Mick Taylor, the Rolling Stones' second guitarist, played bass on the track, due to bassist Bill Wyman's absence that night, and Mick Jagger plays guitar.

In Rolling With the Stones, Bill Wyman said: "On 3 August we worked on 'Good Time Woman' and when I arrived the following day I found Mick Taylor playing bass. I hung around until 3am then left." In the liner notes to Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones, Richards said, "I remember writing the riff upstairs in the very elegant front room, and we took it downstairs the same evening and we cut it." Jagger said that the song's theme of gambling and love came from the fact that he "had a lot of friends at that time who used to fly to Las Vegas for the weekend." He concluded, "Tumbling Dice" was written to fit Keith's riff. It's about gambling and love, an old blues trick."

Recording engineer Andy Johns said "I know we had a hundred reels of tape on the basic track. That was a good song, but it was really like pulling teeth. It just went on and on and on." Some have said that it may have taken as many as 150 takes to get the basic track of the song. The mixing of the album was also difficult. Jagger has never liked the final mix of the song. In an interview with Melody Maker, Jagger said, "I think they used the wrong mix for that one. I know they did."

The single was released on April 14, 1972. It was the Rolling Stones' 23rd single in the United States and their 17th in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "Sweet Black Angel", a song written by Jagger about Black Panther activist Angela Davis.