Mick Jagger / Keith Richards / 2:06
Musicians
Mick Jagger: vocals, harmonica
Keith Richards: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Brian Jones: slide and lead guitar
Bill Wyman: bass
Charlie Watts: drums
Unidentified musician(s): hand claps
Recorded
Regent Sound Studios: September 28–29, 1964
Technical Team
Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
Sound engineer: Bill Farley
When writing this song, Mick Jagger put himself in the shoes of a teenager who sees his girlfriend drifting away from him: you’ve grown up all wrong, he tells her. By this he means: you’ve become an adult without me realizing it, you’ve grown up too quickly. And as a result, I’m through with you.
For many fans, and also for the establishment—though for quite different reasons—this song is highly symbolic. Its title sums up perfectly the image the Rolling Stones wanted to convey of themselves to the media—using Andrew Oldham’s extensive PR know-how—as “the band that has grown up all wrong.” Indeed it is possible to see the group as one big symbol. Mick, Brian, Keith, Bill, and Charlie took delight in demolishing the last remaining vestiges of the previous era with hooks that reflected teenage fantasies and chord progressions that had originated in the studios and frenetic clubs of Chicago and Detroit. “Grown Up Wrong” is a bit like Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” or John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen’”—a song with a hypnotic beat that hits listeners in the guts.
With an excellent slide guitar intro played by Brian Jones (probably on his Gretsch), this is the second Jagger-Richards number (after “What a Shame”) that ventures into blues territory. Ballads like “Tell Me” and “Congratulations” had become a thing of the past, and from now on the blues would shine through in the Stones’ own songs. “Grown Up Wrong” is constructed around Brian’s riff and supported by Bill’s drone bass. Charlie plays a heavy, vehement beat on his Ludwig drum kit with the hi-hat half-open. Hand claps that are not particularly convincing in terms of either the way they are recorded or their execution double the snare drum and reinforce the insistent rhythm. Brian plays a solo, mainly without bottleneck, that never really leaves the ground. Mick shares the refrains with Keith, who provides backing vocals with plenty of reverb—mainly to good effect. And it is again Mick who plays harmonica in the coda, with very good blues phrasing. Although attractive, “Grown Up Wrong” is not one of the Stones’ best songs nor one of their finest productions. However, the Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership was gradually finding its groove and before long would yield what made it unique.