| "Brown Sugar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Rolling Stones | ||||
| from the albumSticky Fingers | ||||
| B-side | "Bitch"/"Let It Rock" (UK) | |||
| Released | 16 April 1971 (1971-04-16) | |||
| Recorded | 2–4 December 1969 | |||
| Studio | Muscle Shoals (Sheffield) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Rolling Stones | |||
| Songwriter | Jagger–Richards | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Miller | |||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Brown Sugar" (Remastered 2009) onYouTube | ||||
"Brown Sugar" is a song recorded by the Englishrock bandthe Rolling Stones. Written primarily byMick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their ninth studio album,Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted at number two. In the United States,Billboard ranked it as thenumber 16 song for 1971.
Rolling Stone ranked it number 495 on its list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010, number 490 in 2004, and at number five on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.[7]
Though credited toJagger–Richards, "Brown Sugar" was primarily the work of Jagger, who wrote it sometime during the filming ofNed Kelly in 1969.[8] According toMarsha Hunt, Jagger's girlfriend and the mother of his first child Karis, he wrote the song with her in mind.[9] FormerIketteClaudia Lennear disputes this claim, saying that it was written about her.[10] In 2014, Lennear toldThe Times that she is the subject of the song because she was dating Jagger when it was written.[11]Bill Wyman stated in his bookRolling with the Stones (2002) that the lyrics were partially inspired by Lennear.[12]
"Brown Sugar" was recorded over a three-day period atMuscle Shoals Sound Studio inSheffield, Alabama, from 2 to 4 December 1969.[12] The song was not released until over a year later due to legal wranglings with the band's former label. At the request of guitaristMick Taylor (who had joined the band asBrian Jones's replacement in July 1969), the Stones debuted the number live during theinfamous concert at theAltamont Speedway on 6 December 1969.[13]
In theliner notes to the compilation albumJump Back (1993), Jagger says, "The lyric was all to do with the dual combination of drugs and girls. This song was a very instant thing, a definite high point".[14]
In a December 1995Rolling Stone interview, Jagger spoke at length about the song, its inspiration, and its success, and credited himself with its lyrics.[15] Keith Richards also credits Jagger with the song in his autobiography.[16] Jagger attributed the success of the song to a "good groove". After noting that the lyrics could mean so many lewd subjects,[17] he again noted that the combination of those subjects, the lyrical ambiguity was partially why the song was considered successful. He noted, "That makes it... the whole mess thrown in. God knows what I'm on about on that song. It's such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go... I never would write that song now." When interviewerJann Wenner asked him why, Jagger replied, "I would probably censor myself. I'd think, 'Oh God, I can't. I've got to stop. I can't just write raw like that.'"[15]
An alternative version was recorded on 18 December 1970 atOlympic Studios in London during a birthday party for Richards andBobby Keys. It features appearances byAl Kooper on piano, andEric Clapton on slide guitar.[18] The alternative version, which had previously been available only onbootleg recordings, was released in June 2015 on the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of the reissuedSticky Fingers album.[18][19]
"Brown Sugar" was released in April 1971 as the first single from the album, and the first single offered by theRolling Stones Records label. While the US single featured only "Bitch" as the B-side, the British release also featured a live rendition ofChuck Berry's "Let It Rock", recorded at theUniversity of Leeds during the 1971 tour of the United Kingdom.
It is one of two Rolling Stones songs (along with "Wild Horses") licensed to both the band and former managerAllen Klein (a result of various business disagreements), resulting in its inclusion on the compilation albumsHot Rocks 1964–1971,Singles Collection: The London Years,Singles 1968–1971, and the 2007 edition ofRolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones. The song was also included on a number of the band's non-Klein compilations, includingMade in the Shade,Rewind (1971–1984),Jump Back,Forty Licks,GRRR!, andThe Singles 1971–2006.
To promote the song, the Rolling Stones performed onTop of the Pops with the performance taped sometime around late March 1971 and broadcast on 15 April and 6 May. They performed "Brown Sugar", "Wild Horses" and "Bitch" for the show's segment dedicated to albums, which was shown on 22 April 1971; due to BBC practices at the time, the other performances wereerased and all that remains is "Brown Sugar". Saxophone playerTrevor Lawrence mimes toBobby Keys's actual solo.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom and the United States, the single was originally issued in mono using a rarely heard studio chatter. This mono mix is different from the album's stereo mix, and has not been released on any compilation.[citation needed]
The song was first performed live during the free concert at Altamont, and was performed routinely during the Rolling Stones'1970 European tour, occupying a prominent spot near the end of theset list even though audiences were unfamiliar with it. The band opened the shows of their infamous1972 American tour with "Brown Sugar", and it has since become a Stones concert staple. However, Jagger has changed some of the more controversial lyrics when performing the song live. For example, the first verse line "I hear him whip the women just around midnight" has been replaced with "you should have heard him just around midnight."[20]
Writing forSounds in 1971, Penny Valentine praised "Brown Sugar", stating that it was her "choice as the best track".[21]Cash Box described the song as returning to "the fresh blues sound of the team's pre-Satanic days" with a "sax break, gritty wailing and the unique stones rhythm work."[22]Record World said that it "is firmly in [the Rolling Stones'] hallowed tradition of gritty, groovy music."[23] Writing forThe Rag, rock criticMike Saunders found the single to be the "only especially noteworthy" track ofSticky Fingers (1971).[24]
The lyrical subject matter has been a point of interest and controversy.[25] Described by rock criticRobert Christgau as "a rocker so compelling that it discourages exegesis",[26] the song's popularity has often overshadowed its provocative lyrics, which explore a number of controversial subjects, includingslavery,interracial sex,cunnilingus, anddrug use.[27]
In 2021, the band announced that the song would be removed from the setlist of their US tour.[28]
Little Richard recorded a rendition of "Brown Sugar" for his albumThe King of Rock and Roll, released in 1971.[29]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[51] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Physical | Silver | 250,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Digital | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Rolling Stones[53]
Additional personnel
