Wild Horses – an unusual tune in that many remakes have been recorded over the years and unlike some songs this one has transitioned fairly well artist to artist having tremendous staying power. What many may not know is that the original version was recorded by Gram Parsons Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970 prior to the landmark recording by The Rolling Stones on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. Some say that the song was actually written for Gram to sing and in large part because of his influence on the band. The story is also told that the tune was ultimately written together by Jagger and Richards but started by Keith Richards after the birth of his son Marlon when he was torn having to leave him to go on tour. A while later Jagger took the tune and rewrote the lyrics keeping only the main line – his version is said to be influenced by Marianne Faithfull (Jagger’s girlfriend in the sixties) – the story is shared that as she woke from a drug induced coma her first words were “wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
There are two additional remakes that standout in my opinion…first, the version by Old and in the Way, a bluegrass supergroup in the 1970s with frontman Jerry Garcia. Their debut album Old and in the Way was released in 1975 and in 2002 a reunion album was released, Old and in the Gray, minus original members Jerry Garcia and John Kahn. The second, a version recorded by The Sundays may likely be one of the more currently well known versions as it faired well on mid '90s pop charts.
Having been covered multiple times over by artists from Molly Hatchett to Susan Boyle and everything in between (Neil Young, The Cranberries, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Bush, Jewel,Alicia Keys, Tori Amos, and Guns N' Roses to name a few), it translates in a pleasing way across many different genres. What version is your favorite?