Miss You (The Rolling Stones song)

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“Miss You”
“Miss You” cover
Single by Rolling Stones
from the album Some Girls
Released May 19, 1978
Format 7"
Recorded October-December 1977
Genre Rock
Disco
Length 4:48
Label Rolling Stones/Virgin Records
Writer(s) Jagger/Richards
Producer The Glimmer Twins
Certification Gold (RIAA) July 6, 1978
Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Hot Stuff"
(1976)
"Miss You"
(1978)
"Beast of Burden"
(1978)
Some Girls track listing
"Miss You"
(1)
"When the Whip Comes Down"
(2)

"Miss You" is a 1978 hit song by The Rolling Stones, from their album Some Girls.

Contents

[edit] Inspiration and recording

"Miss You" was written by singer Mick Jagger while jamming with keyboardist Billy Preston during rehearsals for the March 1977 El Mocambo club gigs (yielding Side Three of the Love You Live album). Although guitarist Keith Richards is credited for co-writing, Jagger is generally regarded as the principal composer.

Several of the songs on 1976's Black and Blue had been influenced by dance music. "Miss You" was the first Rolling Stones single with prominent disco influences, most noticeably in Charlie Watts' thumping, four-on-the-floor drum beat, and in Bill Wyman's funky, grooving bass-lines, which provide another riff in addition to the main melody. That melody, sung in playful falsetto by Jagger, or else intoned by a chorus of dreamy, borderline-campy backup singers, forms the principal hook used throughout the track, often underlined by Sugar Blue's harmonica lines and incisive solos. The funky beat and the rapping during the verses are reminiscent of hip-hop, although it would be a couple of years before hip-hop was commonly recognized as a distinct genre in its own right.

On the track, Jagger said in 1993, "We didn't think of this as a disco track at all... Billy [Preston] was more into the club scene, more dance oriented, and he started the four on the floor beat; but that blues harmonica isn't exactly disco, is it?"

Unlike most of the Stones songs on Some Girls, "Miss You" features several studio musicians. In addition to Sugar Blue, Ian McLagan supplies electric piano, which fits into the overall groove of the song to the point that it is barely audible, and Mel Collins provides the glitzy saxophone solos heard during the instrumental break.

[edit] Release and aftermath

"Miss You" would be one of the last truly huge Stones singles, becoming their eighth number-one hit in the U.S. on its initial release in 1978. The song was originally nearly nine minutes long, but ended up being edited to four-and-a-half minutes for the album version, and a further-edited three-and-a-half minutes for the radio single. The B-side of the single was another album track, "Far Away Eyes", a light-hearted country and western tune sung by Jagger in a pronounced drawl.

In 1978, a "Special Disco Version" was released as a 12" single. It featured additional extended vocals and a heavier, bass-enthused drumbeat. It ran 8:36 in length. An edited 7:31 version appears on the CD, "Rarities 1971-2003".

A bootleg demo version of the song exists clocking in at 11:43. Jagger's lead vocal is less pronounced but audible.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine rated "Miss You" number 496 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Miss You" was used in the opening scene of the pilot episode of Miami Vice, which first aired on September 16, 1984.

The song was used in the 1986 Sean Penn crime drama, At Close Range.

A live recording was captured during the Stones' 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour and released on the 1991 live album Flashpoint.

The song was remixed by legendary west coast hip-hop producer Dr. Dre for the soundtrack to Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Justin Timberlake collaborated with The Stones for a live performance of Miss You at the Toronto Rocks festival. During which Mick Jagger inserted the chorus of Justin's hit Cry Me a River during the song's breakdown.

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 song was featured in a viral video skit known as "Jagg Off" where two men have to compete by doing "their best Jagger" as in imitating his on-stage dancing to the tune of this song.

The song 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".

[edit] Personnel

  • Mick Jagger: Vocals[1]
  • Charlie Watts: Drums
  • Bill Wyman: Bass
  • Keith Richards: Guitar, Background Vocals
  • R. Wood: Guitar, Background Vocals
  • Ian McLagan: Electric Piano
  • Mel Collins: Saxophone, Harp

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Best of the Rolling Stones Jump Back '71 to '93

[edit] External links

Preceded by
"Shadow Dancing" by Andy Gibb
Billboard Hot 100 number one single
August 5, 1978
Succeeded by
"Three Times a Lady" by Commodores
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