Jerry Ragovoy, the great composer and producer, has died at age 80. He undeniably left behind a large archive of major hit songs and produced some of the top acts of popular music. But one song he is credited with writing—Time is On My Side—has long been shrouded in mystery.
Yes, Ragovoy wrote the original version of Time is On My Side for jazz trombonist Kai Winding in the early 1960s. In October, 1963, Winding recorded the Verve single for the first time. It was produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Phil Ramone. An uncredited background vocal group, made up of Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, sang the following lyrics:
Time is on my side, yes yes
Time is on my side, yes yes
You'll come running back
You'll come running back
You’ll come running back to me.
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That was the extent of Ragovoy’s lyrics.
In early, 1964, the song was chosen for recording by Irma Thomas, then a young 23-year-old singer from New Orleans. Thomas’s arranger, H.B. Barnum, hired Jimmy Norman to write additional lyrics to the original Ragovoy version. It was a rush job, finished at the Los Angeles recording studio only minutes before Thomas began recording.
Imperial’s single release of Time Is On My Side was not a hit for Irma Thomas. But, a short time later, in June, 1964, the Rolling Stones recorded the song, using the same expanded lyrics as used by Irma Thomas. Released as both an album and single in October, the song became a signature for the Rolling Stones and is now an American rock & roll classic.
Jimmy Norman was credited for his additional lyrics only on the original Irma Thomas single release and early Rolling Stones releases. A Jerry Ragovoy pseudonym, Norman Meade, was used as N. Meade. The credit N. Meade and J. Norman appeared on the Irma Thomas and early Rolling Stones singles.
Later the credits got fuzzy. On the Rolling Stones releases, the credit was printed in two versions, Meade-Norman and Meade; Norman. Jimmy Norman never collected royalties for his work on the song. Now it is in public domain.
I interviewed Jerry Ragovoy about the song. He denied any involvement at all by Jimmy Norman. Though his attorney admitted to Jimmy Norman’s added lyrics in a letter during legal proceedings. Ira Thomas, who I also interviewed, denied remembering any of it.
But, by the admission of Ragovoy's own lawyer, Jimmy Norman clearly wrote the added lyrics, making him a co-author of one of the great songs in rock & roll history. However, Ragovoy denied that involvement to his death, as did most of his associates.
Keith Richards met Jimmy Norman after a Rollings Stones concert in 2007, in an acknowledgement of Norman's work on the hit song.
Here are the lyrics of the song, with the contributions of each writer shown:
Time is on My Side
Jerry Ragovoy lyrics in Bold Type; Jimmy Norman lyrics in Plain Type
Time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is
Now you always say
That you want to be free
But you'll come running back (said you would baby)
You'll come running back (I said so many times before)
You'll come running back to me
Oh, time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is
You're searching for good times
But just wait and see
You'll come running back (I won't have to worry no more)
You'll come running back (spend the rest of my life with you, baby)
You'll come running back to me
Go ahead, go ahead and light up the town
And baby, do everything your heart desires
Remember, I'll still be around
And I know, I know
Like I told you so many times before
You're gonna come back, baby
'Cause I know
You're gonna come back knocking
Yeah, knocking right on my door
Yes, yes!
Well, time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is
'Cause I got the real love
The kind that you need
You'll come running back (said you would, baby)
You'll come running back (I don't always said you would)
You'll come running back (I won't have to worry no more)
Yes time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Oh, time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
I said, time, time, time is on my side, yes it is
Oh, time, time, time is on my side
Yeah, time, time, time is on my side
Irma Thomas's original recording of Time is On My Side