The Rolling Stones 1969 American Tour's trek during November into December, with
Terry Reid,
B.B. King (replaced on some dates by
Chuck Berry) and
Ike and Tina Turner as supporting acts, played to venues with all tickets sold out. The tour was the first for guitarist
Mick Taylor with the Stones, having replaced
Brian Jones shortly before Jones's death in July; this was also the first album where Taylor appeared fully and prominently, having only played on two songs on
Let It Bleed. The performances captured for this release were recorded on 27 November 1969 (one show) and 28 November 1969 (two shows) at New York City's
Madison Square Garden, except for "
Love in Vain," recorded in
Baltimore on 26 November 1969. Overdub sessions took place in January 1970 in London's
Olympic Studios. The finished product featured overdubbed lead vocals on all tracks except "
Love In Vain", "
Midnight Rambler and
Sympathy for the Devil," added back-up vocals on three tracks, and overdubbed guitar on "
Little Queenie", where Mick Taylor's rhythm guitar was replaced by Keith Richards. However, this album is widely recognized as one of few actual 'live' albums during this era. The album's title is taken from "Get Your Yas Yas Out," a song recorded by
Blind Boy Fuller in 1938. In the context of the Blind Boy Fuller song, the meaning of Ya-Ya's is interpreted to mean ‘to blow off steam’, ‘get the energy out’, to 'jump and dance' and for having sex, where Ya Ya's are women's breasts. This is the interpretation as shown on the cover of the album, with Charlie Watts jumping around with a guitar and bass in his hands, an 'ass' to the left of him, and himself wearing a T-shirt with a picture of women's breasts. The photo by
David Bailey was further inspired by a line in
Bob Dylan's song "
Visions of Johanna": "Jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule" (though, as mentioned, the animal in the photo is a donkey, not a mule). The band would later say "we originally wanted an elephant but settled for a donkey". Some of the performances, as well as one of the two photography sessions for the album cover featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey, are depicted in the documentary film
Gimme Shelter, and shows Watts and
Mick Jagger in early February 1970 on a section of the M6 motorway adjacent to
Bescot Rail Depot in Walsall, England, posing with a donkey. This is adjacent to where the RAC building now stands. The cover photo, however, was taken on June 7, 1970, in London, and does not originate from the February 1970 session. Jagger commissioned the back cover, featuring song titles and credits with photographs of the group two performances at the
Saville Theatre, London, UK, December 14, 1969, from British artist
Steve Thomas, who said he produced the design in 48 hours and that Jagger's response was "I really dig your artwork, man.". ==Release and reception==