Bryan Ferry – Let’s Stick Together

About The Song

“Let’s Stick Together” is a rollicking blues-R&B cover by Bryan Ferry, released in June 1976 as the title track of his third solo album via Island Records. Originally written and recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1962, Ferry’s version transforms the mid-tempo twelve-bar blues into a dancefloor banger with a slick, soulful edge. It became his biggest UK solo hit, peaking at No. 4 on June 27, 1976, spending 10 weeks on the chart, and hitting No. 1 for two weeks in Australia, where it was the ninth best-selling single of 1976, certified Silver by the BPI. A 1988 remix, “Let’s Stick Together ‘88,” reached No. 12 in the UK. The song’s infectious groove and Ferry’s suave delivery made it a defining moment, with AllMusic’s Dave Thompson noting its “frenetic edge of lustful excitement” fueled by Jerry Hall’s mid-riff yelping backing vocals and Ferry’s harmonica.

Recorded at AIR Studios in London, the track features Ferry on harmonica and pianos, Chris Spedding on electric guitar, John Wetton on bass, Paul Thompson on drums, Mel Collins on soprano sax, and Chris Mercer’s tenor sax solo. The music video, starring Ferry’s then-girlfriend Jerry Hall, captures the song’s seductive energy, with Hall’s presence amplifying its visual swagger. As Ferry told Uncut, “Wilbert Harrison’s ‘Let’s Stick Together’ is just a brilliant record. Mine is… OK.” He saw it as an experiment, not a grand statement, choosing it to break from his own writing: “You choose songs you have a feeling for.” The song’s boogie-woogie roots, swapped from Harrison’s honking sax to Ferry’s blaring harmonica, gave it a fresh rhythmic drive, per Diffuser.

The album itself, released in September 1976, was a patchwork of singles, B-sides, and an EP, not a dedicated project, following Roxy Music’s hiatus earlier that year. It included remakes of Roxy tracks like “Casanova,” “2HB,” and “Sea Breezes,” stripped of their avant-garde edge for a smoother R&B vibe. Rock Reflections praises Ferry’s version for keeping the “sacred marriage vow” theme personal, unlike Harrison’s later “Let’s Work Together” rewrite, which Canned Heat also covered. The album hit No. 19 in the UK and No. 160 in the US, where its singles were less available, per Diffuser. Bryanferry.com calls it a “throwaway masterpiece,” with the title track’s video defining Ferry’s “Lounge Lizard” image, cementing his pop culture elegance.

Ferry performed it live on his 1977 solo tour, then shelved it until 1994, when it became a crowd-pleasing encore, later appearing in his 1999–2000, 2002, and 2007 tours. The song popped up in the Apple TV film The Family Plan, per Rock Reflections. Its G-C-D chord progression and “come on, come on” hook, analyzed on Genius, drive its timeless appeal. Covers exist by artists like Christopher John and The Shakers, but Ferry’s version, with its polished grit, remains the most iconic, per SecondHandSongs. As Apple Music notes, Ferry’s take accentuates the “urgency and grit” of Harrison’s original, turning it into a suave anthem that still feels effortlessly cool.

Video

Lyric

And now the marriage vow is very sacred
The man has put us together now
You ought to make it stick together
Come on, come on, let’s stick together
You know we made a vow not to leave one another never

But now you never miss your water till your well runs dry
Come on now baby give our love a try
Let’s stick together
Come on, come on, let’s stick together
You know we made a vow not to leave one another never

Well if you’re stuck for a while consider our child
How can it be happy without its ma and pa
Let’s stick together
Come on, come on, let’s stick together
You know we made a vow not to leave one another never