Stray Cat Blues

Last updated
"Stray Cat Blues"
Song by the Rolling Stones
from the album Beggars Banquet
Released6 December 1968 (1968-12-06)
Recorded1968
Genre Proto-metal, hard rock, blues rock
Length4:40
Label ABKCO
Songwriter(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller

"Stray Cat Blues" is the eighth song on the Rolling Stones' album Beggars Banquet . It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Jimmy Miller. Miller's production of the song is very representative of his style, featuring a very prominent hi hat beat, droning piano performed by Nicky Hopkins, a mellotron performed by Brian Jones, all electric guitars performed by Richards and vocals from Jagger kept even in the mix. According to Mick Jagger, [1] the song was inspired by "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground, with the intros of both songs being particularly similar. [2]

Contents

Background

The song is told from the perspective of a man lusting for illegal sex with a 15-year-old groupie, reasoning that "it's no hanging matter, it's no capital crime". During the performance of the song from the Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! 1970 live album, Jagger changed the lyric to "thirteen years old". [3]

Reception

Jim Beviglia ranked "Stray Cat Blues" the 49th best Rolling Stones song in Counting Down the Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs. [4] Uncut called it "an absolutely filthy song" but ranked it 39th in its Top 40 Rolling Stones songs. [5] Rolling Stone ranked it 43rd in its countdown of the band's top 100 songs, calling it "a sleazy rocker." [2]

Nitzer Ebb covered this song on the "I Give To You" single in 1991. Johnny Winter covered this song in 1974. A version of the song also appeared on Soundgarden's 1992 EP Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas and as a B-side on the single for their song "Jesus Christ Pose". [6] [7]

The song appears in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and in the film Joy .

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Stray Cat Blues". Timeisonourside.com. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 "100 Greatest Rolling Stones Songs - Stray Cat Blues (1968)". Rolling Stone . October 5, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  3. ↑ Kleinman, Jon (3 September 2020). "The Rolling Stones' 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out' Came at a Crucial Moment in History 50 Years Ago". Pop Matters . Retrieved 29 August 2022. "Jumping Jack Flash" and a reverent cover of Chuck Berry's "Carol" make good warm-ups, but the album kicks into gear with "Stray Cat Blues". Originally appearing on Beggar's Banquet, the tune showcases the band's swaggering machismo in all its testosterone-drenched glory. When Mick Jagger sings, "I can see that you're 13 years old / But I don't want no ID", you can practically see drool coming out of your speakers.
  4. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (2015). Counting Down the Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 93. ISBN   978-1442254473.
  5. ↑ "The Rolling Stones' 40 best songs". Uncut . March 6, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  6. ↑ "SOMMS (Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas) - Soundgarden | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Unofficial SG Homepage: Jesus Christ Pose". Web.stargate.net. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
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