"Tumbling Dice" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released worldwide as the lead single from the band's 1972 double album Exile on Main St. on 14 April 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, the song contains a blues and boogie-woogie-influenced rhythm that scholars and musicians have noted for its unusual tempo and groove. The lyrics are about a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman.
"Tumbling Dice" spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number five. In the US, the single peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song entered the top 10 in the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. "Tumbling Dice" received acclaim from contemporary music critics, who praised its musicianship and lyrical prowess. "Tumbling Dice" featured on many "best of" lists, including those by Vulture and Rolling Stone.
Jimmy Miller produced "Tumbling Dice". The Stones have performed the song during many of their concerts since its release in 1972. Several artists have covered "Tumbling Dice", including Linda Ronstadt, whose version – sung from a female perspective – appears on her 1977 album Simple Dreams. Ronstadt's version was a Top 40 hit the following year and is included on the soundtrack of the film FM (1978).
Background and development The Rolling Stones recorded "Tumbling Dice" at a pivotal stage in their history. While recording Exile on Main St. in 1971, the band became UK tax exiles and moved to southern France to avoid paying a 93 per cent supertax imposed by Prime Minister Harold Wilson's Labour government on the country's top earners. Recording schedules were erratic and happened at odd hours. According to drummer Charlie Watts, "a lot of Exile was done how Keith [Richards] works", which meant playing songs dozens of times, letting them "marinade" and repeating the cycle.
The band recorded an early iteration of "Tumbling Dice", called "Good Time Women", at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio sometime between March and May 1970 during the sessions for their 1971 studio album Sticky Fingers. It shared a similar blues, boogie-woogie rhythm with "Tumbling Dice" but heavily emphasised Ian Stewart's piano work, had different lyrics and was incomplete. This song formed the basis for "Tumbling Dice", which the band developed the following year.
Writing and recording Jagger and Richards initially composed "Tumbling Dice" using filler lyrics consisting of a few simple phrases. Sound engineers Andy Johns, Glyn Johns, Joe Zagarino and Jeremy Gee recorded the song played in the basement of the Villa Nellcôte, near Villefranche-sur-Mer France, between 7 June and October 1971 using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The song's basic track was recorded on 3 August 1971. That recording featured Mick Taylor playing bass because of Bill Wyman's unexplained absence with Jagger playing rhythm guitar. In the liner notes to Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones, Richards stated, "I remember writing the riff upstairs in the very elegant front room, and we took it downstairs the same evening and we cut it."Richards, Keith. (1976). [Liner notes]. In Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones [CD]. Virgin Records. In addition to playing with a capo on the fourth fret, Richards employed five-string open G tuning – dubbed "Keef-chord" tuning after he used it on several Exile On Main St. tracks.
The song was completed at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles between November 1971 and March 1972. Jagger had finished the lyrics after speaking with a housekeeper about gambling in LA. He explained, "she liked to play dice and I really didn't know much about it. But I got it off of her and managed to make the song out of that." According to music journalist Bill Janovitz, it was "not pure kismet" that Jagger thought to speak to the housekeeper, saying he was "consciously turning over rocks, looking for something specific". Janovitz believes Jagger may already have had the idea for the "well-worn lover/gambler/rambler trope, but needed the particulars to come up with something like, 'I'm all sixes and sevens and nines'."
Discussing "Tumbling Dice", recording engineer Andy Johns said that recording the song was "like pulling teeth" because of the time it took to get a satisfactory take. Johns has claimed there were between thirty and one hundred reels of tape of the song's base track, and some have said it may have taken as many as 150 takes to complete it. Mixing the album was also difficult; Jagger has never liked the final mix of the song, saying in an interview with Melody Maker, "I think they used the wrong mix for that one. I know they did." Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield, who was present at the mixing sessions, later recalled Jagger telling producer Jimmy Miller that he was okay with either mix.
Music and lyrics
"Tumbling Dice" is known for its groove. Aerosmith's Joe Perry described the song as, "so laid-back, it really sucks you in..." Joe Strummer of the Clash says "Tumbling Dice" is "not a straightforward tempo" but is "halfway between a slow and straightforward rocker". Music critic Bill Janovitz credits the song's "perfect tempo", "slight drag" and "shuffle" with creating that groove. In concert, Jagger and Richards have been known to argue over the speed of the song, with Jagger trying to push the song's tempo a bit faster.
It was acknowledged forty years after the release of "Tumbling Dice" that Miller played the last part of the song, right as the coda begins, because Watts was having trouble with it. "Tumbling Dice" was the only Rolling Stones song where Watts overdubbed a second drum track over the original, creating a bigger sound. In a retrospective article shortly after Watts' death, Ben Sisario wrote for The New York Times that Watts' backbeat gave "Tumbling Dice" a "languid strut".
The song's lyrical structure is irregular. While many songs have the same number of lines for the verse or chorus, the first verse of "Tumbling Dice" has eight, the second six, and the third two lines. The song's first chorus has two lines, the second has three, and the third has twelve lines. At the beginning of each chorus, the piano, bass and drums drop out and the backing vocals sing "you got to roll me" as the guitar plays the song's signature guitar figure. The third chorus leads into the song's coda. Slowly, the band's rhythm section works its way back into the song. The coda includes a call and response with the backing vocals singing "you got to roll me" as Jagger and Richards respond by singing "keep on rollin'".
Release Rolling Stones Records released "Tumbling Dice" worldwide on 14 April 1972 – the Stones' 23rd US single and their 17th in the UK. "Tumbling Dices B-side features "Sweet Black Angel". American artist Ruby Mazur created the single's sleeve. The song is the fifth track on Exile on Main St.. On 21 May 1972, Top of the Pops broadcast a film of the Stones rehearsing "Tumbling Dice" in Montreux for their 1972 tour. On 27 May 1972, The Old Grey Whistle Test showed the same footage.
"Tumbling Dice" appears on Stones' compilations and live albums, including the 1977 double album Love You Live, Shine a Light (2006), and Hyde Park Live. The song is included on several "From the Vault" archive releases, including Hampton Coliseum – Live In 1981 (2014) and L.A. Forum – Live In 1975 (2014). A unique, live version of the song was recorded for Stripped, the 1995 CD that documented part of the Voodoo Lounge Tour but did not appear on that album or on the 2016 re-release CD, Totally Stripped. The recording crossfades from a backstage vocal rehearsal of the song on solo piano to an onstage performance of the song. The backstage rehearsal portion was recorded at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, on 26 or 27 May 1995, and the live performance at the Olympia, Paris, on 3 July 1995. This recording appears on the 1996 "Wild Horses" (live) single and the Rarities 1971–2003 album.
Many Stones concert films have included "Tumbling Dice": Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (1974), Let's Spend the Night Together (1983), Stones at the Max (1992), The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge Live (1995; extended version, 2018), Bridges to Babylon Tour '97–98 (1998), Rolling Stones – Four Flicks (2003), The Biggest Bang (2007), Shine a Light (2008), Some Girls: Live in Texas '78 (2011) and Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live (2013).
Critical reception and legacy "Tumbling Dice" received acclaim from music critics, with many praising its musicianship. Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn asserted that it "features marvelously sensual guitar work by Richards" and that it should rank with "Satisfaction", "Street Fighting Man" and "Honky Tonk Women" "as one of the Stones' classic concert numbers". The Boston Globe critic Ernie Santosuosso agreed, finding the "chorale" to be "outstanding" and the lyrics "intriguing". Peter Barsocchini described the guitar work of Richards and Mick Taylor as "sassy" in a review for The Times. Record World called it an "exciting release" with a "phenomenal rhythm track, vocal chorus". Writing for the Daily News, music critic Jerry Oster found "Tumbling Dice" and "Happy" to be the two songs on Exile on Main St. that had "all the energy and dynamism on which this greatness was founded" and that it came through "overpoweringly". He considered it to be "music that, in a time when dancing is dead, not only can be danced to, but must be".
The drum work by Charlie Watts was also praised. Rolling Stone critic Lenny Kaye considered the guitar work and drumming of Watts to build to a "kind of majesty the Stones at their best have always provided". In a retrospective review for Spin, music critic Al Shipley described every note of the song as "perfection" where every "hooky little moment" is accompanied by a "perfect Charlie Watts snare fill". David Morgan of CBS News asserted that Watts' percussion on the single was "remarkable".
Several critics complimented the tempo and groove of the single. Music critic Jack Garner asserted in a review for Courier News that the song featured a "marvellous tempo". Shipley felt the song has an "irresistible singalong energy", describing the "breakdown and buildup into the final 'you got to roll me' refrain" as "sublime". Critic Bill Janovitz described "Tumbling Dice" in his 2014 book Rocks Off as the "Holy Grail of grooves".
The lyrics of "Tumbling Dice" were well received by critics. Barsocchini considered its lyrics to be "provocative". Garner agreed, stating in a review for Courier News that the lyrics contained "wonderfully sexy double entendre[s]".
Critics frequently considered "Tumbling Dice" to be one of the best songs on Exile. Oster asserted that "Tumbling Dice" was among the eight songs he would keep on Exile, using the others for "hairspray or frisbees". Kaye considered the single to be "a cherry on the first side" of Exile and the only song on the album that made "real moves towards a classic". Ultimate Classic Rock critic Kyle Dowling agreed, calling it a "true standout" of the album and a "classic piece of rock and roll music", noting that it was a persistent favourite in live performances. Morgan agreed with Dowling, calling it a "classic". David Marchese wrote for Vulture that the song "achieves choogle nirvana", expressing surprise that despite a "near-consensus" that Exile on Main St. was the best Stones album, it did not produce any other big singles.