Writers: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
Recorded: December 1965 at RCA Studios, Hollywood
Released: February 1966
| Players: | Mick Jagger — vocals Keith Richards — guitar, vocals Brian Jones — guitar Bill Wyman — bass Charlie Watts — drums |
| Album: | Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) (London, 1966) |
The song “19th Nervous Breakdown” was inspired by a comment lead singer Mick Jagger made to the other members of the Rolling Stones that he was on his “19th nervous breakdown” after days of frantic musical activity.
RCA Studios, where “19th Nervous Breakdown” was recorded, was a favorite recording locale for the Stones in 1965 and 1966. Three separate visits yielded classic tracks such as “Paint It, Black,” “Let's Spend The Night Together,” “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,” “Get Off My Cloud,” and “Mother's Little Helper.”
In his memoir Stone Alone, bassist Bill Wyman remembers the scene at RCA Studios and in Los Angeles at that time: “We loved this studio because it was custom-built with no windows. We neither knew nor cared whether it was night or day but just kept playing on. As I arrived, two girls we had met in Phoenix were hanging around outside. I got them into the studio quietly and told them to strip and walk in on the boys to shock them, which they did. (Producer) Andrew (Loog Oldham) grabbed one and pulled her into the control room for 'action' in front of everyone.”
Phil Spector and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson were among the studio visitors during the December 1965 stint at RCA.
The song was never released as a single in the U.S., nor was it included on the Aftermath album that the group was working on at the time.
It was released in two versions in the U.K. with different B-sides–“As Tears Go By” and “Sad Day.”
Its first album appearance was on the Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) collection, which hit Number Three on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than two million copies.
