Miss You (The Rolling Stones song)
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| "Miss You" | ||||||||||
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| Single by The Rolling Stones | ||||||||||
| from the album Some Girls | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Far Away Eyes" | |||||||||
| Released | 10 May 1978 US 26 May 1978 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | October–December 1977 | |||||||||
| Genre | Rock, disco | |||||||||
| Length | 3:31 (7") 4:48 (LP) 8:36 (12") 7:31 (on Rarities CD) |
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| Label | Rolling Stones | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Jagger/Richards | |||||||||
| Producer | The Glimmer Twins | |||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||||
| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Miss You" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It was released as a single by The Rolling Stones on Rolling Stones Records one month in advance of their album Some Girls, and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. An extended version, called the "Special Disco Version," was released as the band's first dance remix on a 12-inch single.
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[edit] Inspiration and recording
In actuality, "Miss You" was written by Mick Jagger jamming with keyboardist Billy Preston during rehearsals for the March 1977 El Mocambo club gigs, recordings from which appeared on side three of Love You Live. Keith Richards is credited as co-writer as was the case for all Rolling Stones originals written by either partner or in tandem.
Jagger and Ronnie Wood insist that "Miss You" wasn't conceived as a disco song, while Richards said, "...'Miss You' was a damn good disco record; it was calculated to be one." In any case, what was going on in discotheques did make it to the recording. Charlie Watts said, "A lot of those songs like 'Miss You' on 'Some Girls'... were heavily influenced by going to the discos. You can hear it in a lot of those four-to-the-floor and the Philadelphia-style drumming." For the bass part, Bill Wyman started from Preston's bass guitar on the song demo.[1] Chris Kimsey, who engineered the recording of the song, said Wyman went "...to quite a few clubs before he got that bass line sorted out.", which Kimsey said "made that song."[1] Jagger sang a good part of the chorus using falsetto "ooh"s often in unison with harmonica, guitar and electric piano.
Unlike most of Some Girls, "Miss You" features several studio musicians. In addition to Sugar Blue, who according to Wood was found while busking on the streets of Paris, Ian McLagan played understated Wurlitzer electric piano, and Mel Collins provides the saxophone solo for the instrumental break.
The 12" version of the song runs over eight minutes, and features additional instrumentation and solos, particularly on guitar. It was remixed by Bob Clearmountain, then an upcoming mixer and engineer. This song, the first edit the Stones did for a 12" single, also contains tape repeats and an additional set of lyrics in the second verse, after the line "Hey, let's go mess and fool around you know, like we used to." The extended version can be found in edited form on the album Rarities 1971-2003.
[edit] Personnel
- Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals[2]
- Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals
- Ron Wood – guitar, backing vocals
- Charlie Watts – drums
- Bill Wyman – bass guitar
- Ian McLagan – electric piano
- Mel Collins – saxophone
- Sugar Blue – harmonica
[edit] Release and legacy
"Miss You" became The Rolling Stones' eighth number 1 hit in the United States on its initial release in 1978. It also reached number 3 in the United Kingdom. The song was originally nearly nine minutes long, but was edited to nearly five minutes for the album version, and to three-and-a-half minutes for the radio single. In order to properly edit the radio single without audible bumps and glitches, a separate mix was constructed and then edited for continuity. The b-side of the single was another album track, "Far Away Eyes," a tongue-in-cheek country and western tune sung by Jagger in a pronounced drawl.
A live recording was captured during the Rolling Stones' 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour and released on the 1991 live album Flashpoint.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine rated "Miss You" number 498 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]
[edit] Cover versions
- Sugar Blue re-recorded the song on his 1993-album Blue Blazes.
- Etta James covered the song in her Matriarch of the Blues album in 2000. Her version is a slow blues in 6/8 time. In this version, the line mentioning "Puerto Rican girls" is gender-switched to "Puerto Rican dudes."
- It was covered by neo-soul singer Musiq Soulchild for his 2003 album Soulstar. In this version, the reference to "Puerto Rican girls" is replaced with "pretty girls".
- "Weird Al" Yankovic included this song in his Rolling Stones polka medley "The Hot Rocks Polka".
- The Moviehouse Arcade released a cover of the song on the Poly Sci EP in 2004.
- It was covered in an instrumental jazz version by E Street Band member Danny Federici for his 2006 album Out of a Dream. It was released as the first and only single from the album.
- Japanese singer-songwriter UA collaborated with the band Little Creatures for her 2005 album Nephew and covered "Miss You" in a downbeat, experimental style.
- The Concretes made a slower cover of the song on the 2003 tribute album We Love You.
- Musician Prince did a live cover of the song featuring Ronnie Wood at an aftershow during his Lovesexy Tour in 1989.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Sound on Sound
- ^ The Best of the Rolling Stones: Jump Back '71 to '93 (1993). CD liner notes
- ^ Rolling Stone List of 500 Greatest Songs
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single 5 August 1978 |
Succeeded by "Three Times a Lady" by Commodores |
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