This week The Rolling Stones performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, working through tracks from their new album Hackney Diamonds.
Yet a historic moment also occurred when the band performed a live cover of Time Is on My Side for the first time since 1998.
Jerry Ragovoy’s 1963 track was originally covered by soul singer Irma Thomas before The Rolling Stones heard her version and recorded their own.
Marking 60 years since they released their take, Irma herself was invited on stage to perform a duet with Mick Jagger in what was the band’s second only time singing Time Is on My Side live since 1982.
According to Rolling Stone, Jagger told the audience: “In 1964, which is a very long time ago, we heard this great song on the radio by this amazing singer. We recorded it and it became our first kind of hit in America. The lady that did the song first, she’s the Soul Queen of New Orleans! I’d like to bring out on stage now to sing the song with us, here she is, Miss Irma Thomas!”
The performance was The Rolling Stones’ debut at the jazz festival having originally been booked to play it back in 2019 before being forced to cancel so Jagger could undergo heart surgery.
