This song was originally recorded by the jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his Orchestra on the Verve Records label in October 1963. His version was mostly instrumental with just the lyric "time is on my side" sung by the background trio of Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. The first fully vocal version was recorded by the New Orleans soul singer Irma Thomas; her version was released as the B-side of "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" in June 1964. The Rolling Stones released their version of the song in the US on September 26, 1964, and it became their first Top 10 hit in America. Thomas' version contains a spoken part in the middle that the Stones left out.
The lyrics were most likely written by Jimmy Norman, who was a member of The Coasters. The songwriting credit is unclear, and usually lists Jerry Ragovoy, who wrote "Piece Of My Heart" and "Try" for Janis Joplin, as the only writer, sometimes as "Norman Meade," which he used as a pseudonym. Thomas' original single lists the credit as "J. Norman - N. Meade." Ragovoy, who also produced the song for Thomas, died in 2011 at age 80.
In this song, Mick Jagger has lost his girl, but he knows it's just a matter of time until he returns. After all, he's got "the real love, the kind that you need."
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