Star Star
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ""Star Star"" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by The Rolling Stones | ||
| from the album Goats Head Soup | ||
| Released | August 31, 1973 | |
| Recorded | November & December, 1972 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 4m:25s | |
| Label | Rolling Stones/Virgin | |
| Writer(s) | Jagger-Richards | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller | |
| Goats Head Soup track listing | ||
| "Can You Hear The Music?" (9) |
""Star Star"" (10) |
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"Star Star" is a song by The Rolling Stones that appeared on their 1973 album Goats Head Soup. One of the raunchiest songs in the band's catalogue, the song was originally titled "Starfucker" until Atlantic Records guru Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic was the distributor of Rolling Stones Records) insisted on the change. The song gained notoriety not only for explicit lyrics alluding to sex acts involving fruit (among other things) but also for controversial mentions of such celebrities as John Wayne and Steve McQueen. While discussing the song, the band members have always referred to the song by its original title. A live performance was captured and released on 1978's Love You Live.
[edit] The song
"Star Star" is a simple, Chuck Berry-style rocker that slowly increases in momentum as the song progresses. Opening with a biting Keith Richards lick, it continues in 4/4 time driven by Mick Taylor's crunching rhythm guitar, Charlie Watts' propulsive snare pattern, Keith Richards' Berry-esque rhythym-lead, Ian Stewart's piano, and Bill Wyman's bass line, which isn't introduced until the second verse, adding to the song's snowballing effect. The centerpiece of the song, however, is Mick Jagger's vocals. At first calm and conversational, his voice grows increasingly petulant, spitting the lyrics in a leather-throated howl by song's end. The result is one of the hardest rockers in the group's extensive catalogue, and a fine example of the Richards-Taylor interplay which characterized the band's sound during the period from 1969's Let It Bleed and up until Taylor's departure in 1974.
[edit] Controversial lyrics
As the 1970s approached their midpoint, the Stones' image became increasingly decadent, bolstered by tales of backstage debauchery (as evidenced by Robert Frank's storied documentary Cocksucker Blues). "Star Star" is the best representation of this image to be found in the band's music, as evidenced by the lyrics, which exasperated Ertegun and wouldn't be matched in sleaze again by the Stones until the release of the misogynistic "Some Girls" in 1978. The more controversial lyrics include:
-"Your tricks with fruit was kinda cute/I bet you keep your pussy clean" (This line was overdubbed on the U.S version of the album)
-"Ali McGraw got mad with you/For giving head to Steve McQueen" (The band obtained a statement from McQueen agreeing not to sue upon the album's release to ease Ertegun's worries)
-"I'm making bets that you gonna get John Wayne before he dies" (This John Wayne reference was also edited on some versions of the album, with "John Wayne" being replaced by "your man." On their tours in 1975 and 1976, this line was changed out of respect for John Wayne's failing health.)
In a July 6th, 1978 live version of Star Star, recently made availble on Wolfgang's Vault, Jagger substitutes the aforementioned lyrics regarding John Wayne, (at 2:42 of the recording) to take a jab at Jimmy Page for some reason.
