#270 - The Rolling Stones - Some Girls (1978)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – THE ROLLING STONES
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band that formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. During their formative years, Jones was the primary leader: he assembled the band, named it, and drove their sound and image. After Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager in 1963, he encouraged them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the primary creative force behind the band, alienating Jones, who had developed a drug addiction that interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully. Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing covers and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s.
Mick & Keith became childhood friends and classmates in 1950, but the Jagger’s moved in 1954. The 2 reconnected in 1961 on a railway platform in Dartford. Jagger was carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Water records, Richards also liked those bands, and the rest is history. Mixing blues and early rock and roll, they were one of the major bands that were a part of the British Invasion of 1964. Like other bands at the time, they started off playing covers, but quickly found success with their own material. The band started to peak in 1965, with a stretch of songs over a couple of years that would consistently chart towards the top of both the US and UK charts (Paint It Black, (I Can’t Get No) Satsifaction, Not Fade Away, Under My Thumb, and 19th Nervous Breakdown, Mother’s Little helper). Jagger & Richards were the band’s driving force, and in 1966 they released “Aftermath”, the first album release with all of the tracks entirely composed by the pair. The band started to gain a reputation at this point for being a great live act, and after releasing the live album "Got Live If You Want It", January 1967 saw the release of Between the Buttons, which reached number 3 in the UK and number 2 in the US. After Mick and Keith dealt with some drug charges during that year, In December 1967, they released Their Satanic Majesties Request, which reached number 3 in the UK and number 2 in the US. It drew unfavorable reviews and was widely regarded as a poor imitation of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The band continued to have massive success with Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed before the 1970s hit. Sticky Fingers followed in 1971, which introduced the world to the iconic Rolling Stones tongue logo we all know. May 1972 saw the release of what is widely considered their best work, Exile on Main Street. Two more number 1 albums followed with Goat's Head Soup in 1973, and It's Only Rock N Roll in 1974. Mick Taylor, who had replaced Brian Jones, began to lose patience with the band after years of feeling like a "junior citizen in the band of jaded veterans". The Stones needed a new guitarist, and the recording sessions in Munich for the next album, Black and Blue provided an opportunity for some guitarists hoping to join the band to work while trying out. Guitarists like Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck were auditioned, but when Ronnie Wood got his turn, everyone agreed he was the right choice. He officially joined the band in time for their 1975 tour of the Americas, which was a contributing factor in the disbandment of Faces. That leads us to today's album.
Some Girls was the last album of the 1970s for the Stones. Following the success of the album, they released Emotional Rescue in 1980. During recording sessions for the album, a rift between Jagger and Richards slowly developed. Richards wanted to tour in the summer or autumn of 1980 to promote the new album. Much to his disappointment, Jagger declined. Emotional Rescue hit the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Tattoo You followed in 1981, but by the time Undercover was released in 1983, the rift had grown significantly. To Richards' annoyance, Jagger signed a solo deal with CBS Records and spent much of 1984 writing songs for his first album. He also declared his growing lack of interest in the Rolling Stones. By 1985, Jagger was spending more time on solo recordings. Much of the material on 1986's Dirty Work was generated by Richards, with more contributions from Wood than on previous Rolling Stones albums. It was recorded in Paris, and Jagger was often absent from the studio, leaving Richards to keep the recording sessions moving forward. With relations between Richards and Jagger at an all-time low, Jagger refused to tour to promote the album and instead undertook a solo tour, where he performed some Rolling Stones songs. As a result of their animosity, the Stones almost broke up. After their RnR HOF induction in 1989, Jagger and Richards set aside their differences and recorded "Steel Wheels", which was considered the band's return to form. The Rolling Stones ended the 1990s with the album Bridges to Babylon, released in 1997 to mixed reviews. The band's first new album in almost eight years, A Bigger Bang, was released on 6 September 2005 to positive reviews, and performed the Half Time Show in that year's Super Bowl. The Stones continue to be very relevant in music as they were the highest earning live act of 2021 (ticket prices definitely playing a part in that).
Following reports in February 2023 that former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would appear on their yet-named new album, representatives for the band confirmed that McCartney will appear but stated that Starr would not. This will mark the first time that McCartney and the Stones have collaborated on a studio album.
The Rolling Stones have sold over 240 million albums worldwide. The band was inducted into the RnR HOF by Pete Townshend in 1989. The only artists to top the UK Album Charts in six different decades, they are tied with Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams for the second most number 1 albums on the Official UK Chart, surpassed only by the Beatles. The Stones have made more money than U2, or Springsteen, or Michael Jackson, or Britney Spears, or the Who—or whoever. Since their formation in 1962, the Rolling Stones have survived multiple feuds. They have released 30 studio albums, 23 live albums, 12 official compilation albums, all of which compromise over 340 songs. According to OfficialCharts.com, the Stones are ranked the fourth bestselling group of all time. The band have received and been nominated for multiple awards including three Grammy Awards (and 12 nominations) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986, On Jagger's 75th birthday, scientists named seven fossil stoneflies after present and former members of the band. This theme was continued when NASA named a rock disturbed by the thrusters of the Mars InSight Lander "Rolling Stones Rock". In 2022, the band featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail, and their 60th anniversary was commemorated with a collectible coin by the Royal Mint.
In 2016 Rich Cohen of The Wall Street Journal wrote, The Stones have gone through at least five stylistic iterations: cover band, '60s pop, '60s acid, '70s groove, '80s New Wave. At some point, they lost that elasticity and ability to reinvent—they got old—but the fact that they did it so well for so long explains their inexhaustible relevance. The Stones have lived and died and been reborn again and again. It means that, for many different generations of adults, the sound of high school was the Rolling Stones. The Stones have reinvented themselves so many times that they might as well be immortal.
ALBUM BACKGROUND – SOME GIRLS
During the mid-'70s, the Rolling Stones remained massively popular, but their records suffered from Mick Jagger's fascination with celebrity, and Keith Richard's worsening drug habit. By 1978, both punk and disco had swept the group off the front pages, and Some Girls was their fiery response to the younger generation. In May, they released the single “Miss You”, and it was huge. Not only did it peak at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it proved that the Rolling Stones weren’t on their way out. This is also Ron Wood's first album as a full member of the Stones. With a stable lineup in place for the first time in several years, the album marked a return to basics for the Rolling Stones and did not feature many guest musicians, unlike many of their prior albums.
Back in February 1977, the Stones were scheduled to play in Toronto, but Keith Richards and his partner Anita Pallenberg were arrested for possession of heroin and suspected of drug trafficking. With the help of Jimmy Carter, who obtained visas, the pair was permitted to leave Canada so that Richards could undergo detoxification in the United States. During this time, Richards obtained a conditional visa for France and met the rest of the Stones in Paris to begin work on what became Some Girls. Facing the possibility of Richards receiving a seven-year sentence in Canada, Jagger and Richards both believed that the Stones might be forced to disband and that Some Girls could be the last album. During Richards' trial, the courtroom was filled with Stones fans and it became clear to reporters present that he would not be "sent to jail." The judge overseeing the trial stated that while "heroin addicts should go to prison if they commit theft to support their habit, or make no effort to kick the habit...Richards was different. He made so much money as a rock star, he didn't need to steal, and his effort to remove himself from the drug culture was an example to others." Richards served one year of probation and ordered that he play a benefit concert at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind within six months; Graburn chose this sentencing option after speaking with a blind fan whom Richards had befriended years earlier and ensured her safe passage to and from concerts.