It’s time again for Friday on My Mind, our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5. Today, Mick Jagger celebrates his 70th birthday, so we’re looking at our favorite videos from The Rolling Stones.
Born in 1943 as Michael Philip Jagger in Dartford, Kent, England, to a physical education teacher and an Avon lady, which when you think about it, makes all kinds of sense considering that the man is in incredible shape AND he can pull off eyeliner like nobody’s business. Jagger attended the London School of Economics, which is very fortunate considering he has more money in the bank than Portugal. In Portugal's defense, the country has been hit hard by the economic downturn. Jagger has remained busy in his main gig as the front-man for The Rolling Stones, but he’s also known for his work as a music and film producer, as well as his turns as an actor. The Rolling Stones gave their first live performance at the Marquee Club in London all the way back in 1962. When Jagger was 29 years old in 1972, he was quoted as saying, "I'll never tour when I'm 50,". In yet another interview, he also said, "I'd rather be dead than singing "Satisfaction" when I'm 45." And now here we are today on his 70th birthday, and The Rolling Stones just wrapped up a 2013 world tour. In his defense, he isn't 50 or 45. In fact, here is a little footage of The Rolling Stones at the Glastonbury Festival, which they headlined last month:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsalr9jLDfs
In 1989, The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And then in 2003, Jagger was knighted. He has been nominated for a whopping total of 15 Grammys, two of which he won. Regarding his personal life, Jagger has been married twice and has seven children between four different women. He has been dating 46 year old American fashion designer L’Wren Scott since 2001. Jagger already held a birthday party bash 10 days ago to mark his 70th, but here's to hoping he has a happy birthday.
And now here are a few video highlights from Mick Jagger's career:
The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
The Stones originally wrote this song during the mid 70's, but scrapped it. Their initial intention was for this song to be recorded with a reggae rhythm, but it never quite worked. Flash forward to the early 80's and the band was in need of one more song for their 1981 album Tattoo You. They dug up "Start Me Up", set it to a rock beat, and the rest is history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGyOaCXr8Lw
The Rolling Stones - It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It)
The title song from the 1974 album. "It's Only Rock N' Roll" was the first song from The Rolling Stones that featured writing contributions from Ronnie Wood, who at the time was their new lead guitarist. David Bowie provided backing vocals for this song, which isn't too shabby. This video features the band wearing white sailor uniforms, while being drowned in a room full of bubbles too, so there's that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGaBlygm0UY
The Rolling Stones - Angie
And speaking of David Bowie, the long running rumor is that Jagger wrote the song, "Angie" about David Bowie's wife Angela Bowie who had contended that she had walked in on Bowie in bed with Jagger during the early 70's. Both Jagger and Bowie have denied the story and Jagger even has gone so far as to say that the song was primarily written by Keith Richards and that the name Angie was used lyrically only for how it rhythmically fit. Whatever the actual story truly is, it made for a beautiful song. "Angie" was The Rolling Stones' only ballad to hit #1 in the US charts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcZn2-bGXqQ
Honorable Mentions:
The Rolling Stones - Miss You
For "Miss You", the Stone's went disco with the rhythm section, which made sense since it was 1978. While this disco turn ended up upsetting a lot of their fan base, the song went to #1 on the charts. "Miss You" was recorded during the same session in which the band recorded "Start Me Up".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hic-dnps6MU
The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
Back in the day, The Stones signed away the publishing rights to their songs. Anytime you hear "Paint It Black" or any of their other hits from 1965-1969, take note that their former manager from the mid 60's gets paid. In an article published earlier this month by The Business Insider, it was reported that The Rolling Stones' last three tours grossed a combined total of $1 billion and that this most current tour has the potential to make more than $100 million, so I don't think that the band is crying too much about signing that bogus contract. This footage of the band performing "Paint It Black" is from a 1962 performance in London on a television program called Ready, Steady, Go!.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6d8eKvegLI