On This Day, May 12, 1972: The Rolling Stones release ‘Exile on Main St.’

On This Day, May 12, 1972…

The Rolling Stones released the double album Exile on Main St. on their own label Rolling Stone Records. The album went to number one in the U.S. and spent four weeks on the top of the charts.

Recorded mostly in a villa in the South of France, where the band had moved to escape paying U.K. taxes, the album featured such classics as “Happy,” featuring Keith Richards on vocals, “Tumbling Dice,” “Rocks Off,” “Rip This Joint,” “All Down the Line” and more.

Considered a classic album by the band, Exile on Main St. ranked at seven on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in both 2003 and 2012. In 2012 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

A remastered version of the record was released in 2010, featuring a bonus disc with 10 new tracks. It debuted at number one on the U.K. chart and number two in the U.S.

In celebrating the 51st anniversary of the album, guitarist Keith Richards shared on Instagram, “If I see a copy of Exile hanging about, I nick it and play it,” adding, “I still love that record very much. I would say there is the best of the Stones in there – up till now.”