"Paint It Black," The Rolling Stones' 1966 classic, originated as a studio joke rather than a serious composition. Despite its dark, melancholic lyrics about loss and despair, the song became one of the band's most iconic works and has sold approximately 17 million copies, demonstrating how their creative playfulness during the 1960s could transform even casual studio humour into enduring masterpieces.

Bill Wyman's fast-paced organ playing on the track was initially a mockery of their manager Eric Easton's style, whilst Keith Richards and Mick Jagger created the music and lyrics. The song's distinctive psychedelic edge drew inspiration from Jewish wedding songs, particularly "Hava Nagila," combined with Brian Jones's sitar playing. The Aftermath album, of which "Paint It Black" is the opening track, was originally intended as a soundtrack for a never-filmed movie that Mick Jagger rejected after meeting the proposed director Nicholas Ray.