In 1964, the great New Orleans R&B singer Irma Thomas released her version of “Time Is On My Side,” a song that Danish-American jazz trombonist Kal Winding and his orchestra first released a year earlier. (The singers on that first recording were Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick and their cousin Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother.) Over in London, the Rolling Stones heard an imported record of Thomas’ “Time Is On My Side,” and they immediately recorded their own cover, with Mick Jagger doing his best imitation of Thomas’ vocals. The Stones’ cover was a top-10 hit in the US, and the versions from both Thomas and the Stones are now considered classics.

Sixty years later, the Rolling Stones and Irma Thomas sang “Time Is On My Side” together for the first time ever. The Stones recently kicked off their latest US tour in Houston, and they headlined the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last night. Irma Thomas was also on the Jazz Fest bill, and the Rolling Stones brought her out to sing a duet version of “Time Is On My Side.” She and Mick Jagger sang the song as a casual, almost conversational duet. She cooked him, and he seemed to enjoy it.

There’s a lot of history there. For years, Irma Thomas refused to sing “Time Is On My Side,” and she said in interviews that the Rolling Stones hadn’t paid her proper respect for her version of the song. Last night was also the first time that the Stones performed the song since 1998. Also, Irma Thomas is 84, and Mick Jagger is 80, so it’s both comforting and sobering to hear them singing about time in any capacity. Watch fan footage of the performance below.





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