LOOK AT THIS picture. Take a good long look at it.
If it reminds you of the climactic scene in the 1947 Christmas movie classic Miracle on 34th Street, then we are on the same page. The United States Postal Service proves the existence of
Santa Claus by delivering canvas bags full of mail to a man named Kris Kringle who is on trial at a courthouse in New York City for claiming to be the real, true, genuine, one and only Saint
Nicholas himself!
Thirty-one years later, the Rolling Stones could have used the same defense in court to prove their continuing status as the Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band in the World!
Excitement was at fever pitch when the group announced plans to tour the United States to support their very well-received June 1978 release Some Girls. It was the band’s first time
on the road here since their spectacular Tour of the Americas in 1975, on which they sold out Madison Square Garden six times (one hundred and fifty thousand–plus fans!). It was going to be a
little bit different in 1978 and, dare I say, a lot more special and exclusive in the Big Apple.
At a time when ticket scalping for top-draw rock concerts had grown to epidemic proportions, a unique strategy was chosen for their one and only New York date at the thirty-three-hundred-seat
Palladium Theater on Fourteenth Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue. Tickets were made available only by lottery through the most credible, influential FM progressive rock radio
station in the country—WNEW-FM. Take a peek at those mailbags engulfing program director Scott Muni in his office. Over four hundred thousand postcards were received in three days for those
thirty-three hundred seats!
Winners were selected at random and notified by telephone where to purchase their prized tickets. The ducats themselves were undated and details about the show were not revealed until the day
before the actual concert.
The conclusions you could draw from all of this? Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!
STONES CONTROVERSIES IN THE 70S
ANTHONY DECURTIS: I think the whole thing with the Stones and women—I find their depiction of the
relationships between men and women realistic. It’s not sentimental. That doesn’t mean that they don’t like women. It’s about the kind of power plays that come
into play in a relationship. It’s not prudified. But it’s not negative. It’s just honest. It’s not the usual view of love you get in pop music. It allows for the
darker elements . . .
It seems like with every Stones album, there was another controversy. The feminist group WAVAW (Women Against Violence Against Women) was outraged over the promotional
poster for Black and Blue (right). Keith and Mick’s attitude was: “It’s a joke, get over it.”
For Some Girls, the main flap had to do with a throwaway lyric about black girls and what, to his mind, they wanted to do all night. Jesse Jackson got involved, protesting the
song.
MICK JAGGER: I think [the races] are all well covered—everyone’s represented (laughs). Most
of the girls I’ve played the song to LIKE “Some Girls.” They think it’s funny; black girlfriends of mine just laughed. And I think it’s very complimentary
about Chinese girls, I think they come off better than English girls. I really like girls an awful lot, and I don’t think I’d say anything really nasty about any of them . . .
(laughs). The song’s supposed to be funny.
As for his take on Jesse Jackson, here’s a quote from 1985:
MICK JAGGER: I haven’t seen him since. That’s an example of an ad-lib getting you into a lot of
trouble. No Italians complained. There’s a line about French girls. I don’t know if anyone was really upset apart from him.
On Saturday Night Live, Garrett Morris gave a mock editorial where after acting offended, he quoted the line and said, “I have one thing to say to you, Mr.
Mick Jagger . . . Where are these women?!?”
