57 years ago today, one of the great releases of all time: The Rolling Stones release the double A-Side “Ruby Tuesday” b/w “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” The bigger hit would be “Ruby Tuesday,” but “LSTNT” would hit the Top 10 in many countries, and have a better story to boot. The now infamous performance on The Ed Sullivan Show would result in Sullivan declaring the band banned, though that only lasted till 1969. As recently as 2006, the song was banned by Chinese authorities on the group’s first ever appearance in that country. It is one of many Stones tracks where Keith plays bass. And it is one of many Stones classics to feature Jack Nitzsche.

Jack made his name as Phil Spector’s right hand man. He’d relocated to Los Angeles from Chicago, with the hope of making it as a saxophonist. Sonny Bono gave Jack his first job, as a music copyist at Specialty Records. They’d co-write “Needles and Pins” for Jackie DeShannon. Eventually, Jack would become Spector’s main arranger and conductor for the Wall of Sound. He first met The Rolling Stones in 1964. He’d go on to play keyboards on some of the band’s legendary albums and singles, including December’s Children, Out Of Our Heads, “Paint It, Black,” and also writing the choral arrangement on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Jack’s career credits are staggering: appearances as musician or producer with The Wrecking Crew, Neil Young, Graham Parker, Willy DeVille, Buffalo Springfield, and Crazy Horse. He’d also have a hand in film soundtracks One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Exorcist, Razor’s Edge, winning an Oscar for his co-write of “Up Where We Belong.” Today’s Playlist is comprised of songs Jack had a hand in, as musician, arranger or producer:

One of his biggest contributions was the show where he first met The Stones: He was arranging music for what would become the amazing T.A.M.I. Show, at the Santa Monica Civic Center in 1964. The full show is easily accessible to see, and it stands as one of the greatest concert films of all time. Just a few of the acts that took part: The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes. The ultimate performances belong to The Stones, and the man they had to follow, James Brown.

Keith Richards claims to this day that it was the biggest mistake they ever made, following James. His performance is mind-blowing, coming back after the cape throwing act of “Please Please Please,” to send the audience into a frenzy with “Night Train”:

The Stones, of course, killed it on their own: