Misplaced Pages

"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, the song was inspired by "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground, with the intros of both songs being particularly similar.

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".

Reception

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

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".

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

Personnel

• Mick Jagger – vocals
• Keith Richards – electric guitar, slide guitar, bass
• Brian Jones – Mellotron
• Charlie Watts – drums
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Rocky Dijon – congas

References

1. "Stray Cat Blues". Timeisonourside.com. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
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. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

• The Rolling Stones songs
• 1968 songs
• Songs written by Jagger–Richards
• Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller
• Songs about groupies
• Works about adolescent sexuality