On this day in 1971, The Rolling Stones released “Brown Sugar”. It is the opening track and lead single from their album, Sticky Fingers. It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and at number five on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
According to Marsha Hunt, Mick Jagger’s girlfriend and the mother of his first child Karis, he wrote the song with her in mind. Former Ikette Claudia Lennear disputes this claim, saying that it was written about her. Bill Wyman stated in his book Rolling with the Stones (2002) that the lyrics were partially inspired by Lennear.
In the liner notes to the compilation album Jump 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.” In a December 1995 Rolling Stone interview, he added, “It’s such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go… I never would write that song now.”
The lyrical subject matter has been a point of interest and controversy. Described by rock critic Robert Christgau as “a rocker so compelling that it discourages exegesis”, the song’s popularity has often overshadowed its provocative lyrics, which explore a number of controversial subjects, including slavery, interracial sex, cunnilingus, and drug use.
In 2021, the band announced that the song would be removed from the setlist of their US tour.
Brown sugar,
How come you taste so good?
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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons.
