"Ooh La La" is a 1973 song by the band Faces, written by Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood. It is the title song of the band's last studio album, Ooh La La.
The lead vocals were provided by Wood, a rarity in the band's catalogue; lead vocals were usually performed by Rod Stewart and less often by Ronnie Lane. Stewart and Lane each recorded lead vocals for the song, but reportedly neither was satisfied by their attempt. Their producer Glyn Johns then suggested that Wood give it a try, and this version was used for the track on the album. Rod Stewart recorded a version of the song a quarter of a century later for his album When We Were the New Boys.
In 2021, it was listed at No. 246 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[2]
Content
The lyrics describe a dialogue between a grandfather and grandson, with the elder man warning the younger about the perils of relationships with women: "Poor old granddad, I laughed at all his words / I thought he was a bitter man; he spoke of women's ways." The chorus laments, "I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger."
Personnel
Ronnie Wood – vocals, acoustic guitar, lead guitar
In addition to being the closing title track of the Faces' final studio album, the Faces version of the song appeared as a US single in May 1973. The first compilation on which the Faces version appeared was the album Snakes and Ladders / The Best of Faces. It appeared again on the 1999 Faces retrospective Good Boys... When They're Asleep and then also on the 2004 four-disc box set Five Guys Walk into a Bar.... It appeared on the Ronnie Wood greatest hits compilation Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion, where Wood stated in the liner notes that he always thinks of Lane when he plays it.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Ronnie Lane versions
Lane recorded his own version with his new group Slim Chance soon after leaving Faces in 1973; it featured lyrics slightly altered from those he wrote for the Faces version. Although his studio version was never released during his lifetime, it appeared as the title track of the 2014 Slim Chance compilation Ooh La La: An Island Harvest. Lane regularly performed the song at concerts and on radio shows throughout his solo career until he retired from the music business in 1993, due to bad health.
Rod Stewart covered the song on his 1998 solo album When We Were the New Boys in tribute to the recently deceased Lane. It was released in May 1998 as the lead single from the album and became a top-20 hit in the UK as well as a top-40 hit in the US.
"Ooh La La" was featured in the 1998 film Rushmore, played over the film's final shot and closing credits, and was included on the film's 1999 soundtrack album.
^"Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 55.
^Flick, Larry (16 May 1998). "Stewart Revisits His Roots". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 20. p. 14. Radio promotion for 'Ooh La La' in the U.K. and throughout much of Europe begins on Monday (11).
^"New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 16 May 1998. p. 35.
