THE ROLLING STONES hadn’t had a number one hit in the States since “Ruby Tuesday/Let’s Spend the Night Together” in March of 1967. They wouldn’t have another one, “Brown Sugar/Bitch,” until May of 1971. But in 1969, a year of chaos and crisis for the world and the band, they unleashed a brilliant, instant Stones classic—“Honky Tonk Women/You Can’t Always Get What You Want”—that ascended to the top of the charts on August 23 (my twenty-fourth birthday by the way, and less than a month after I had joined WNEW-FM).
Brian Jones left the band on June 9, and was found dead in his swimming pool less than a month later on July 3. His final work with the group was two tracks on the Let It Bleed album: percussion on “Midnight Rambler” and autoharp on “You Got the Silver.” Mick Taylor joined up at that point and his first session with them was for the single version of their fifth number one American single, “Honky Tonk Women.”
The record came out on July 4 in England, the day after Brian’s death, and on July 11 in the States, the day after his funeral. About four hundred promotional copies were given away to fans who helped to clean up after the Hyde Park concert on the fifth. (See chapter 19.)
Big hit singles are either from albums of new material, or released independently, then quickly collected on packages of greatest hits. Before it even finished its run on the singles charts, “Honky Tonk Women” turned up in September of 1969 on a compilation called Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2); the successor to Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass). In another blaze of originality, artistic flair, and marketing genius, the cardboard cover for the collection was not the typical twelve-and-a-quarter-by-twelve-and-a-quarter-inch jacket. Instead, it was cut out octagonally, like a stop sign, featuring the five group members as if they were pressing and distorting their faces right against the sealed plastic wrapper that enveloped the recording. Instant collectible, anyone?
An earlier version of “Honky Tonk Women,” when it was still a rollicking barroom drinking song called “Country Honk,” featuring Sam Cutler honking an actual car horn, ended up as side one, cut three on the Let It Bleed album released in December. Also on that album was the full-length version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” clocking in at seven minutes, twenty-eight seconds. A four-minute, forty-nine-second edited version ended up as the B side of “Honky Tonk Women,” minus the chorus and some horn parts.
It’s as interesting a story as the A side. One of my favorite rock ’n’ roll performers of all time is the legendary Al Kooper. Aside from his ample credits as a musician, writer, arranger, teacher, and producer, he has also authored one of the best and most entertaining books about the rock ’n’ roll life, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, a must-read for anyone interested in the roller-coaster ride of the music biz. Al has never been accorded the acclaim commensurate with his talents—he belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Al also earned an asterisk for his unexpected contribution to the sessions for “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Many regard the song as yet another attempt on the part of the Rolling Stones to equal or surpass an accomplishment by their bosom buddies/arch-rivals the Beatles—namely “Hey Jude.” It’s a reasonable assumption, isn’t it? One last Hail Mary pass as the Fab Four were beginning to implode, and the Rolling Stones were about to take the title Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band in the World!
The Stones were in Olympic Studios in London putting Let It Bleed together. Al Kooper, burned out from all his recording responsibilities in the States, booked a trip to England to unplug, decompress, and do nothing but relax. The Rolling Stones had other ideas. Hearing about Al’s proximity from the rock ’n’ roll grapevine, Mick and Keith found him, wore him down, and got him to agree to play organ and piano at the session, very much in his comfort zone, of course. The recording went extremely well, and, when it was finished, Al had a brainstorm. I’ll let him pick up the story:
AL KOOPER: I told Jagger that if he ever wanted to put horns on it to call me ’cause I had a great part for it. Almost nine months after that session, an eight-track master of the song arrived at my office one day at CBS. There was a note which said, “Dear Al, you once mentioned you could put some great horn parts on this. Well, go ahead and do it and send us the tape back. Love, Mick.”
What a memory that Jagger had. I wrote out a horn chart, leaving a spot in the intro where I could play a French horn solo. The intro itself took me three hours to get ’cause I’m not the world’s greatest French horn player, and I wanted to sound like I was . . . It was a bad night in the studio for me, and the part didn’t come out nearly as good as I thought it might. I crossed my fingers and sent Jagger back his tape. A year later it came out, and they had ditched all the horn parts except my little French horn intro. It sounded fantastic on the radio. You could hear the piano and the organ, and they actually gave me credit on the single. Nice guys . . . over the years, the Stones have always been honorable, great people to hang out with, and the best people to play after-hours music with.
Here’s another asterisk for you, Al. * You’re the best!