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"Fool to Cry"
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album Black and Blue
B-side	"Crazy Mama" (UK) "Hot Stuff" (US)
Released	16 April 1976
Studio	Musicland, Munich, Germany
Genre	Soul
Length	4:08 (single edit) 5:04 (album version)
Label	Rolling Stones
Songwriter(s)	Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)	The Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Out of Time" (1975) "Fool to Cry" (1976) "Hot Stuff" (1976)
Official video
"Fool to Cry" on YouTube

"Fool to Cry" is a ballad by English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1976 album Black and Blue.

The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Mick Taylor had just left the band and the Stones were left without a lead guitarist. The recording of Black and Blue acted as a sort of audition for new guitarists, which led to session man Wayne Perkins playing guitar on this track. Jagger plays electric piano and Nicky Hopkins performs acoustic piano on the track, with Hopkins also playing the string synthesizer.

Released as the lead single off Black and Blue in 1976, "Fool to Cry" reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The full track lasts just over five minutes, whereas the single (as well as edits, this also fades out at the end) lasts just over four minutes.

Cash Box called this "a departure for the Stones," saying that "the beat is relaxed, vocals are laid over a foundation of Fender Rhodes and guitar, all played with funky style" and also praised Jagger's falsetto vocals and Richards' "searing guitar riffs." Record World said that "this ballad rivals 'Angie' in its soul drenching qualities" and noted that there were "superb performances all around."

"Fool to Cry" was the only track from Black and Blue to appear on the Stones' career-spanning greatest hits albums Forty Licks in 2002 and GRRR! in 2012.

Chart performance

Covers

Lena Dunham, creator and star of HBO's Golden Globe-winning show Girls, commissioned Tegan and Sara to cover the Rolling Stones' "Fool to Cry" for the show's official soundtrack. American singer and songwriter Taylor Dayne covered the song for her 2008 studio album Satisfied.

References

1. "Rolling Stones singles".
2. ^ Janovitz, Bill. "Fool to Cry – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
3. "Singles Reviews > Picks of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XXXVII, no. 48. 17 April 1976. p. 31. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
4. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 17 April 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
5. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
6. "The Rolling Stones – Fool To Cry" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4167a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fool to Cry". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 21, 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
10. "The Rolling Stones – Fool To Cry" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
11. "The Rolling Stones – Fool To Cry". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
12. "TOP Hebdo".
13. "The Rolling Stones – Fool To Cry". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
15. "Black and Blue – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
16. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JUNE 12, 1976". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012.
17. "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. 12 June 1976. p. 15. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
18. "Image : RPM Weekly". RPM. Vol. 26, no. 14 & 15. 8 January 1977. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
19. Khanna, Vish (18 January 2013). "Girls' Lena Dunham asked Tegan and Sara to cover the Rolling Stones". CBC Music. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
20. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Taylor Dayne – Satisfied". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 May 2016.

External links

• The Rolling Stones – Fool to Cry – Official Promo on YouTube

• 1976 singles
• 1976 songs
• 1970s ballads
• British soul songs
• Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers
• Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards
• Songs written by Jagger–Richards
• The Rolling Stones songs