Brown Sugar (1971) 4/1/20

Sometimes a “Great Song” is a hit in spite of its subject matter.

In 1971, The Rolling Stones released their classic album, “Sticky Fingers,” and with it, the single, “Brown Sugar.”

Mick Jagger wrote the song with a bit of help from Keith Richards, and they tossed in lyrics about every form of debauchery they could think of: white slavery, several different types of sexual perversion, and heavy drug usage.

Considering some of the “lyrically innocuous” songs that radio stations banned from the airwaves in those days, it's a miracle “Brown Sugar” hit the charts at all...but it did...in a BIG way! It was a Top 10 hit in 11 countries, including #1 in the US, Canada, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.

How did they get away with it in an era of heavy censorship?

Most likely because Mick's vocals were hard to understand, it had an amazing guitar hook, and because--after all--it's THE STONES! :-)

Rolling Stone Magazine has it at #495 on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” and even more impressive: it's #5 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.” Is it because the magazine was named after the group? Maybe a little.

So here's today's “Great Song of the '70s.” Enjoy the music, and Ignore the lyrics. Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing. ;)