Editing Let It Bleed (section)

== Recording ==
Although the Rolling Stones had begun the recording of "[[You Can't Always Get What You Want]]" in November 1968, before ''[[Beggars Banquet]]'' had been released, recording for ''Let It Bleed'' began in earnest in February 1969 and continued sporadically until early November.<ref name="Egan">{{cite book |last=Egan |first=Sean |title=Rolling Stones and the making of Let It Bleed |year=2005 |publisher=Unanimous Ltd |isbn=1-90331-877-7 |pages=206– }}</ref> [[Brian Jones]], the band's original leader and founder, had, over the course of the recording of the previous two albums, become increasingly detached from the group. Though present in the studio, he was frequently too intoxicated to contribute meaningfully, and after a motorcycle accident in May 1969, missed several recording sessions whilst recovering. Always a talented multi-instrumentalist, Jones had previously contributed extensively on guitar, forming an integral part of the dual-guitar sound that was central to the band's chemistry. He was fired from the band during the recording of ''Let It Bleed'', having performed on only two tracks: playing [[autoharp]] on "[[You Got the Silver]]", and percussion on "[[Midnight Rambler]]". A month after being fired, Jones was found at the bottom of his swimming pool at his home. The coroner's report stated this was a drowning, later revised to "[[death by misadventure]]".

As with the previous album, most of the guitar parts were recorded instead by the band's other guitarist, [[Keith Richards]], during the period of principal recording. Jones's replacement, [[Mick Taylor]], appears on just two tracks, "[[Country Honk]]" and "[[Live with Me (song)|Live with Me]]", having contributed some overdubs during the May 1969 London [[Olympic Studios]] recording sessions. He also appears on "[[Honky Tonk Women]]", a stand-alone single recorded during the ''Let It Bleed'' sessions.

Richards sang his first solo lead vocal on a Rolling Stones recording with "You Got the Silver",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minilps.net/images/stories/shop_image/product/17%20Bleed%20f.jpg |author=Decca |authorlink=Decca Records |title=Inner sleeve credits |access-date=13 July 2012}}</ref> having previously sung harmony and background vocals with primary vocalist [[Mick Jagger]] on "[[Connection (The Rolling Stones song)|Connection]]" and shared alternating lead vocals with Jagger on parts of "[[Something Happened to Me Yesterday]]" and "[[Salt of the Earth (song)|Salt of the Earth]]". Additional vocals were provided by the [[The Bach Choir|London Bach Choir]], who sang on "You Can't Always Get What You Want". The choir distanced themselves from their contribution, however, citing what author [[Stephen Davis (music journalist)|Stephen Davis]] terms its "relentless drug ambience".<ref name="Davis p 306">{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Davis |title=Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones |publisher=Broadway Books |location=New York, NY |year=2001 |isbn=0-7679-0312-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oldgodsalmostdea00step/page/306 306] |url=https://archive.org/details/oldgodsalmostdea00step/page/306 }}</ref> Bassist [[Bill Wyman]] appears on every track except for two, on which Richards played bass. Drummer [[Charlie Watts]] performed on all of the tracks except for "You Can't Always Get What You Want"; he struggled to attain the sought-after rhythm, so producer [[Jimmy Miller]] filled in for him instead.

''Let It Bleed'' was originally scheduled for release in July 1969. Although "Honky Tonk Women" was released as a single that month, the album itself was delayed and eventually released in December 1969, after the band's US tour had completed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Let It Bleed 50th Anniversary Edition |url=https://therollingstonesshop.co.uk/products/let-it-bleed-50th-anniversary-edition?srsltid=AfmBOor0OHsPr76h4b3ClezfGyqzp5D1WgXdXSAkUutJaVVO8D8pmVLc |url-status=live |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Rolling Stones |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907165757/https://therollingstonesshop.co.uk/products/let-it-bleed-50th-anniversary-edition |archive-date=7 September 2024}}</ref> The majority of the album was recorded at [[Olympic Studios]] in London, with further work taking place at [[Elektra Records|Elektra]] Sound Recorders Studios in Los Angeles, California, while the Stones prepared for the tour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bonanno |first=Massimo |title=The Rolling Stones Chronicle |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |year=1990 |isbn=0-207-16940-3|pages=86, 93}}</ref> The Los Angeles-recorded portions included [[Overdubbing|overdubs]] by guest musicians [[Merry Clayton]] (on "[[Gimme Shelter]]"), [[Byron Berline]] (on "Country Honk"),<ref>{{cite book |first=Bill |last=Wyman |title=Rolling with the Stones |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |location=London |year=2002 |isbn=0-7513-4646-2 |page=356}}</ref> and [[Bobby Keys]] and [[Leon Russell]] (on "Live with Me").<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Davis |title=Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones |publisher=Broadway Books |location=New York, NY |year=2001 |isbn=0-7679-0312-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldgodsalmostdea00step/page/304 304, 305] |url=https://archive.org/details/oldgodsalmostdea00step/page/304 }}</ref>