The Rolling stones have released a limited-edition vinyl track, Plundered My Soul, which had originally been recorded for1972's Exile on Main Street but never used. (Mark Seliger/Associated Press)

A recently re-discovered Rolling Stone track is being released as a limited edition single in honour of Record Store Day, an international day to bring attention to independent record stores.

Plundered My Soul was recorded for the band's 1972 double album Exile On Main Street, but was never used. One thousand vinyl copies have been pressed for sale on Saturday, available at independent music stores across the U.K.

An estimated 1,400 stores are participating this year, mostly in the U.K. and U.S. and including about 70 Canadian shops such as Vancouver's Zulu Records, Halifax's Random Play and Sonic Boom in Toronto.

Dozens of other artists besides the Stones have joined the cause to release limited edition tracks on seven-inch vinyl. The tracks include songs from groups such as The Flaming Lips, Blur, Bruce Springsteen, REM, Pet Shop Boys, MGMT and The Beatles.

Record stores are becoming a rare breed with the boom in downloading. In Canada, sales of CDs dropped 36.3 per cent last year while digital sales jumped 35 per cent.

Record Store Day was created three years ago by Chris Brown, an employee at a New England music shop.

Since then, large labels have joined the cause with EMI, Universal Music and Warner Bros. Records sponsoring the day.

The one positive blip on the economic horizon for stores seems to be vinyl sales, which soared 33 per cent last year compared to the previous year.