How the Rolling Stones Shook Up Their 1976 Setlist with 'Fool to Cry' and a Reggae Cover

The 1976 Black and Blue tour marked a deliberate shift in the Stones’ live show. After years of leaning heavily on Exile on Main St. and Goats Head Soup material, the band debuted three songs from the new album, most notably “Fool to Cry.” That piano-led ballad became an immediate setlist staple, but it also polarized crowds who expected more guitar-driven raunch. Mick Jagger would often sing it from a baby grand piano at center stage, a rare moment of vulnerability in a tour otherwise built on swagger.

The bigger surprise was the inclusion of “Cherry Oh Baby,” a reggae cover originally by Eric Donaldson. The Stones had dabbled in reggae before (“Love in Vain,” “Stop Breaking Down”), but this marked the only time they performed a straight-up Jamaican pop song from the Black and Blue sessions live. It appeared in only a handful of shows, mostly in Europe, and was dropped quickly—likely because the rhythm section’s groove couldn’t replicate the studio’s loose, offbeat feel. For fans who caught it, it remains a rare gem: the Stones trying on a genre they loved but rarely brought to the stage.