THE ROLLING STONES - “Honky Tonk Women”
(#274, 26th July 1969)
1969 birthed two of the darker elements of the Stones legend - Brian Jones’ death and Altamont - but as a chart-topping hit ”Honky Tonk Women” interrupts a run of strange, doom-laden records with three minutes of party music. A louche, slightly dangerous party to be sure, debauched even, but not directly menacing. This isn’t the Stones as satanic threats, or as avatars of chaotic times, but as a band settling into being “the greatest rock n roll band in the world” (a band as a brand, in other words, where you know what you’re going to get). It’s a relaxed record, whose appeal is its tease of instability - Jagger’s vocal with its words often trailing off in exhausted gasps, leaning on the reeling guitars while Bill and Charlie keep the whole operation upright and the party going for one more round. Or for thirty more years. 6
(YouTube video - live with subtitles from Nov 69!)
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FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on September 21st, 2006
not to detract from the loucheness but it is surely “woman” not “women”?
blount on September 21st, 2006
is this the first hip-hop beat appearance on popular? (is this the last hip-hop beat appearance on popular?)
beat and backing keef vocals it’s definite strengths (that cowbell perhaps birthing the early 70s or a significant strand of it at least), of the big huge stones monoliths (’stsfctn’, ‘jjf’, this, ‘brown sugar’, ‘miss you’, ’start me up’) this is maybe my least fave (definitely between this and ’start me up’) but i still love it. better than ‘lady madonna’!
jeff w on September 21st, 2006
mark: no, Tom has it right. Amazing how many online lyric sites have it as “Woman” though.
Elton John did a fantastic (fun) cover of this on 17/11/70.
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on September 21st, 2006
blimey so it is!! except on the first ever stones comp i owned which got it wrong — i have just checked — so i always have also!!
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on September 21st, 2006
hurrah for more loucheness in the world than i thought there was!
Jack Fear on September 21st, 2006
Jagger’s mushy pronunciation improves the song immeasurably by making it possible to mishear many lines as something really dirty.
A question for the peanut gallery: What’s your favorite misinterpreted lyric from “Honky Tonk Women”?
FT's Tom on September 21st, 2006
Pronunciation quibbles can now be cleared up as I’ve linked the subtitled YouTube vid.
Chris Brown on September 21st, 2006
I thought he was singing “Honky tonk woman”, despite the title, because each verse is about a different woman.
FT's Andrew Farrell on September 22nd, 2006
I’ve been hearing “different scene” as “divorcee” for some time now, then.
intothefireuk on September 22nd, 2006
Like the Beatles still riding high on the coat-tails of their previous success this is a perfunctory tune although I’ve always enjoyed the line ’she blew my nose then she blew my mind’ for some reason. Jaggers blurred words disguise the lyrics just enough to allow Radio Wunnnerful not to realise how risque (for them) they are.
Whilst this sat at number one something a little more positive was happening (which should have punctured the bubble of doom and gloom prevalant throughout most of this year and heralded a brighter future). However pop was having none of it (see the next entry & Space Oddity) for further evidence.
FT's Tom on September 22nd, 2006
What was this positive thing intothefire? I’m excited now!
Marcello Carlin on September 22nd, 2006
I note that “Honky Tonk Women” kept “Give Peace A Chance” at number two, which if I’m not mistaken is the only incidence in UK singles chart history where the Stones stopped any Beatle from having a number one.
intothefireuk on September 22nd, 2006
er…..’One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ (or so we thought anyway).
FT's Tom on September 22nd, 2006
Ahh OK - I hoped it was that rather than Woodstock! (I think the moon landings happened while T Newman was at #1 tho)
Aardvark on September 22nd, 2006
Nothing to say about the song but Dave Sim’ Mick and Keef has to be my favourite insertion of broadly caricatured rock-stars into on-going visual sword and sorcery narrative of all time.
“Keef! You ain’t been straight since 1879!”
intothefireuk on September 22nd, 2006
Tom yes you are factually correct the Moon landing happened on Sunday 20th with TN at no.1 and the new chart was announced on the Tuesday, therefore HTW became no.1 whilst the moon mission was proceeding. So I was kind of right (almost).
FT's Alan on September 22nd, 2006
(and hurrah i am born, and ppl immediately start buying Z&E…)
Andrew Hickey on September 22nd, 2006
Prince Mick!
Chris Brown on September 23rd, 2006
According to Glyn Johns, Mick told him that he liked to make his vocals inaudible so that people would have to buy the records to find out what the words were. When you actually listen back to the song, they really aren’t as dirty as you sort of imagine - that “blew my nose/blew my mind” bit (however it’s pronounced) is either a vague-enough-to-get-away-with drug reference or a brilliant example of a lyric that makes sense because you want it to, and I prefer it as the latter.
I always used to get this mixed up with ‘Brown Sugar’ but this is the one I prefer. Even so though, this is another one that’s not quite as good as I think it is - all the action (cowbell, louchness, lyrics, etc) is in the first half of the song and then it just keeps going on. Which I suppose some might call a fair summary of their career. I might be generous enough to give it a 7, depending on mood.
As noted, this is the first Stones single with Mick Taylor. It was also their last non-album 45, which might in part account for it being their final chart-topper, but clearly isn’t the only reason.
FT's wwolfe on September 25th, 2006
This is the first Stones hit where it sounds to me like they’re having to make a real effort to summon the energy needed to focus their creative energy and imagination into the form of a hot three-minute single. “Jack Flash” felt like a release and relief: Loog Oldham was gone, the drug busts were done, psychedelia was over (for them, at least), and they sounded like they were having a blast playing tough rock and roll again. This one sounds like making music had suddenly took on aspects of heavy lifting. It’s a good record, but the youthful enthusiasm is gone.
Marcello Carlin on September 26th, 2006
“Brown Sugar” would have been a number one but was criminally kept off the top in an even-worse-than-Engelbert scenario, but that’s all yet to come.
FT's Doctor Mod on September 27th, 2006
In response to Chris Brown and wwolfe:
I’d been hesitant to comment on this record because I couldn’t put my finger on just why I didn’t really like it. It now occurs to me that I stopped buying the Stones’ records around that time for some of the reasons you’ve mentioned, and I imagine that the absence of Brian Jones is a key factor. In retrospect, I think he deserves as much credit as Mick and Keith for making the Stones the band as good as they were in the beginning. Indeed, he was probably the most versatile (certainly the most ecclectic) musician in the lot, and after they dumped him (followed shortly by his death), the Stones would never quite so interesting again.
Marcello Carlin on September 27th, 2006
Yes because Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street were just a complete waste of time weren’t they?
Marcello Carlin on September 27th, 2006
I’m not really convinced that the Stones ever needed Jones in the first place.
FT's Doctor Mod on September 27th, 2006
It all boils down to a matter of taste, no?
But no, I wouldn’t say that the albums you mention were a complete waste of time.
wichita lineman on May 17th, 2008
Got a similar thing to Dr Mod here - I put it down to Andrew Oldham’s departure. They were a blues-rock band before he managed them and they reverted to type when he left. Which isn’t meant to mean they got better or worse… but I’ll take Get Off Of My Cloud over their louche period any day.
So louche is it - or loose, rather - that in spite of the hip-hop beat, it’s impossible to sample unless you want to spend hours screwing about to make Charlie’s drums ‘n’ cowbell hit the beat!
Another record it kept at number 2 which pointed to future rhythms (though it was yet another with a dark and deathly aura) was Robin Gibb’s Saved By The Bell, the first hit record to use a drum machine.