Start Me Up
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Start Me Up" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Rolling Stones | ||
| from the album Tattoo You | ||
| Released | 1981 | |
| Format | CD, 7" | |
| Recorded | 1975, 1978, re-recorded 1981 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3 min 33 s | |
| Label | Rolling Stones/Virgin | |
| Producer(s) | The Glimmer Twins | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||
| "She's So Cold" (1981) |
"Start Me Up" (1981) |
"Waiting on a Friend" (1981) |
"Start Me Up" is a song by The Rolling Stones which was featured on the 1981 album Tattoo You.
The song was first recorded in Munich during the 1975 Black and Blue sessions, and later in the 1978 Some Girls sessions under the working titles "Never Stop" and "Start It Up". The song was originally recorded as a reggae track, but after dozens of takes the band decided to abort it. In 1981, with the band looking to tour, producer Chris Kimsey proposed to lead singer Mick Jagger that archived songs could comprise the set. While searching through the archives, Kimsey found two takes of the song with a more rock vibe among some fifty reggae versions. Overdubs were done on the track in early 1981. The infectious "thump" to the song was achieved using mixer Bob Clearmountain's famed "bathroom reverb", a process involving the recording of some of the song's vocal and drum tracks with a miked speaker in the bathroom of the Power Station recording studio in New York City. It was there where final touches were added to the song, including Jagger's switch of the main lyrics from "start it up" to "start me up."
Although the lyrics to the song might be read as double-entendres referring to motorcycle racing,
| “ | Spread out the oil, the gasoline; I walk smooth, ride in a mean, mean machine... | ” |
| “ | Kick on the starter give it all you got, you got, you got; I can't compete with the riders in the other heats... | ” |
| “ | My eyes dilate, my lips go green; My hands are greasy; She's a mean, mean machine... | ” |
they are clearly sexual in nature:
| “ | I've been running hot; You got me ticking gonna blow my top; If you start me up, If you start me up I'll never stop. | ” |
The song opens with what has since become a trademark riff for Keith Richards. It is this, coupled with Charlie Watts' steady backbeat and Bill Wyman's echoing bass, that comprises most of the song. Lead guitarist Ron Wood can clearly be heard playing a layered variation of Richards' main riff. Throughout the song Jagger breaks in with a repeated bridge of "You make a grown man cry," followed by various pronuncements of his and his partner's sexual nature;
| “ | You make a grown man cry (x2); Ride like the wind at double speed; I'll take you places that you've never, never seen. | ” |
Often live versions of the song are lengthened by giving Wood a solo near the middle of the song, pieces of which can be heard throughout the original recording.
The song reached No. 2 in the US and No. 7 on the UK Singles Charts in August 1981. It remains a significant single as the Stones have not been back into the UK Top 10 since. The B-Side was a slow blues number called "No Use In Crying" which also featured on the Tattoo You album. A popular music video was produced for the single, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
"Start Me Up" is often used to open the Stones' live shows and has been featured on the live albums Still Life, Flashpoint, and Live Licks.
The song was one of three played by the Rolling Stones at half time during the Super Bowl XL in 2006. Along with "Rough Justice" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Mick Jagger allegedly omitted ostensibly objectionable words from the song. It was later revealed that the volume on Jagger's mic had not been turned down at points, without the singer's prior permission, but instead Jagger had agreed to leave out lines that were found offensive. [1]
Microsoft Corporation used this song in the Windows 95 marketing campaign, although paying significantly less than the $14 million rumored. This was the first time that the Rolling Stones allowed another company to use their songs in an advertising campaign. [2]
