By late 1967, the band had felt constricted financially & creatively by manager Don Arden (father of Sharon Osbourne), and were lured by Rolling Stones' publicist Andrew Loog Oldham into signing with his new Immediate label. They soon recorded more expansive psychedelic sounding material including hit pop tunes like "Lazy Sunday" which was included with their UK number one classic concept album Ogdens Nut Gone Flake and "Itchycoo Park" which was their only stateside charting single.
The demise of the Small Faces arrived on New Years Eve 1968, when Steve Marriott walked off stage at The Alexandra Palace in London. Marriott felt that despite the success of the group, he was still not being taken seriously as a musician. He went on to achieve major status in the U.S.A with Peter Frampton in Humble Pie. The others continued as the Faces, opting to drop the "Small" after one LP as new recruits Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood towered above their new band mates. Drummer Kenney Jones later joined The Who after the death of their drummer Keith Moon. As years went on, Marriott kept recording various lineups as Humble Pie but became somewhat of a caricature and casualty of rock excess. Tragically, Steve Marriott died in a house fire in 1991 and Ronnie Lane followed him in 1997 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Keyboardist Ian McLagan has continued to tour and record with his own band as well as with artists like Billy Bragg, The New Barbarians ( a group composed of Ian, Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham), and The Rolling Stones. According to announcements at the shows on the New Barbarians tour, the proceeds of the live gigs were going to pay Ronnie Lane's medical expenses associated with Ronnie's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.
The Small Faces remain one of British rock's most important legacy acts, with their membership having links to so many other acts. Amongst the many bands they influenced were The Jam, Ramones, Oasis and X.
There are a number of locations around London linked to the Small Faces, many to be found in the East End where they grew up.
The J60 Music bar in Manor Park, an instrument shop where Steve Marriott first met Ronnie Lane
http://www.musicpilgrimages.com/articl/4012.php
Little Ilford park, also located in Manor Park, inspired the track Itchycoo Park, Steve and other kids in the East End used to play in this park when they grew up.
http://www.musicpilgrimages.com/articl/4002.php
In 1968 the Small Faces recorded a video for their track Lazy Sunday, Steve sings in his native East end accent and the video was shot in the East End using Kenney Jones parents' flat in Havering Street. The video ends with a shot of the nearby Thames.
http://www.musicpilgrimages.com/articl/4014.php
Every Little Bit Hurts
Small Faces Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every night I cry
Every night I sigh
Every night I wonder why
You treat me cold
Yet you won't let me go
Every little hurt counts [x2]
You say you're coming home
Yet you never phone
Leave me all alone
My love is strong for you
I'd do wrong for you
I can't take this loneliness you've given me
I can't go on giving my life away
[Bridge]
Come back to me
Darling you'll see
I can give you all the things that you wanted before
If you will stay with me
Every little bit hurts [x2]
To you, I'm a toy
The Small Faces' song "Every Little Bit Hurts" is a heartfelt ballad imbued with deep melancholia. The singer of the song is pained by a lover who treats them coldly but doesn't let them go. Each night the singer cries and wonders why the lover treats them so cruelly. The lover never phones or comes back and leaves the singer all alone. Despite their better judgment, the singer admits that their love for the cruel lover is strong enough that they'd do wrong for them.
The every day hurts of the singer are emphasized through the repetition of "Every little bit hurts." The singer tries to explain to their lover the unbearable pain they are in by pleading them to come back and assuring them that they can provide for them all they ever wanted. However, the lover remains gone, and the singer cannot go on living without them. The heart-wrenching lyrics, accompanied by a slow, mournful melody, express the emotional toll that can come with heartbreak.
The song was originally recorded in 1964 by Brenda Holloway, but The Small Faces' interpretation of the song rapidly became a hit in the United Kingdom, making it to the Top 20 charts. The song's title and refrain were sung by Mick Jagger during the 1969 Rolling Stones American Tour as an intro to "Honky Tonk Woman." There have been several other covers of the song, including arrangements by The Who and Alicia Keys.
Line by Line Meaning
Every little bit hurts
Even small actions that you do are causing me immense pain.
Every night I cry
I cry each night feeling your cold behavior towards me.
Every night I sigh
I sigh every night wondering why you're treating me this way.
Every night I wonder why
Every night, I question your behavior towards me.
You treat me cold
Your behavior towards me is unloving and disrespectful.
Yet you won't let me go
Even though you treat me badly, you don't want to leave me.
Every little hurt counts
Every single pain I feel from your actions is significant and adds up.
You say you're coming home
You make promises of coming home, but never follow through.
Yet you never phone
You don't even call me when you're away, leaving me without any communication.
Leave me all alone
I'm always alone because of your neglect and abandonment.
My love is strong for you
Despite everything, I still love you deeply.
I'd do wrong for you
I'm willing to do anything, even if it's wrong, to make you happy.
I can't take this loneliness you've given me
Your actions have caused me to feel deeply lonely and sad.
I can't go on giving my life away
I can't keep sacrificing my happiness and well-being for you anymore.
Come back to me
Please come back to me, I miss you so much.
Darling you'll see
If you come back to me, you'll realize how much I truly love you.
I can give you all the things that you wanted before
If you come back to me, I'll give you everything you've ever wanted.
If you will stay with me
But you have to stay with me, for things to work out between us.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Iricom US Ltd
Written by: Ed Cobb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@abrahammangion7601
Rest in Peace Steve 🙏 We still miss you. The music lives on ☆☆☆☆☆
@daveh438
We had an all nighter in Birmingham in a little club the night we found out about his demise only mod songs all night. I think he'd be proud of our staying power lol
@daveh438
This is as good as it gets
@constanzaed
The voice of Steve Marriott is always stunning!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@shanekennedy1480
Totally agree!.... The small faces are far superior to the bands who grabbed all attention back then!...
Same with the Who!..... And the kinks!.... Those 3 bands are magical!..... 😎👌
@myaslesultandebergame7955
So deep...maybe somewhere between sky n'ocean.....🤫😎
@leonrodriguez5451
After small faces with humble pie was worst
@cindyfalstrom7231
Simply beautiful, so soulful...
@deeslim2105
They were sooo young when they recorded this, so on point. One of Britain's finest right there.
@amandeepnagpal129
Guts out singing, can't get enough of this. Cheers.