"Paint It Black" is a song released by The Rolling Stones on 13 May 1966 as the first single from the US version of their fourth album Aftermath. Although originally titled without a comma, the release version was styled "Paint It, Black". Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca, and that the comma stirred confusion and potential controversy with some listeners: "There were some weird letters, racial letters. 'Was there a comma in the title? Was it an order to the world?'" The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Jagger wrote the lyrics and Richards wrote the music. The single reached number one in both the United States and the UK Singles Chart in 1966. In 2004 it was ranked number 176 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the US and UK, it was the first number one single to feature a sitar.