In this edition of Golden Nuggets, a feature in which I spot light and critique the number one song the Billboard chart from fifty years ago, I will be taking a look at the Rolling Stones' deep dive into some low down southern rock on 'Honky Tonk Women'.
In the first episode, I covered Zager & Evans' one hit 'In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)', which led me into a lot of research to figure out who the band were, listen to the song for the first time,etc. That was not the case for our sophomore episode. Everybody knows the Rolling Stones, and 'Honky Tonk Women' is a pretty big song of theirs, at least in the parts I've called home (when they played the song in Heinz Stadium when I saw them, people were jumping and freaking out so much I could feel the concrete stadium risers physically shaking. A little scary to be honest. Good song though). Before venturing any further, if you somehow haven't heard this jam, let's get acquainted really quickly. So, what do I say about this song that hasn't been said before? Not much, but I can retread old ground.
For starters, this is the first song released by the band after the death of former guitarist and founder Brian Jones (it was released literally the day after he died, July 4th, 1969). Now, in days of digital releases, you'd probably push the release date back a bit, but the wheels were already turning too fast to stop the vinyl machine. Second, there's an alternate version that can be found on the album that followed the release of this single, Let it Bleed, aka one of the best Stones records they've ever released (I'm more of a Sticky Fingers #1 person so I won't go so far as to say it's their best, but it's up there), under the name 'Country Honk'. Allegedly, this much more country tinged version of the song was the version that was originally being worked on, and it sort of mutated into the cowbell laden, loose southern fried jam it became. Keith Richards attributed it to the arrival of Mick Taylor, though Taylor swears the song was pretty much already complete before he joined.
So, the song itself is a pretty loose, vaguely southern little ditty about a woman the narrator meets in a bar in Memphis (Jackson in 'Country Honk') who, most likely a prostitute, tries to get him upstairs for sex. The narrator seems to acquiesce to the demand, saying something along the lines of "maybe this will get this other woman out of my mind since the alcohol isn't working". I have already admitted to personally being a witness to people (especially women) freaking out when this song was played, 'Brown Eyed Girl' style, which when you pay attention to the lyrics is a little bizarre, but hey,the song bumps, whatever.
This song spent four weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard charts starting on August 23, 1969, and for additional week at number one in their native UK. However, the track has had a lot more lasting popularity than that, becoming a concert favorite and still making it into regular rotation in their setlists and various compilations. I enjoy the vibe of the song, and really enjoy the horn section near the middle of the track. The release of the song seems a little bit like the release of the 'Revolution' single by the Beatles a year earlier, with the more laid back version 'Revolution 1' landing on the album. Coincidence? Probably.
So, next time I'll be looking at 'Sugar, Sugar' by the Archies, which I've definitely heard, as well as seen the weird Archie comics animated video, but maybe with a little research, I can discover the band behind the cartoon.
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