Miss You - Rolling Stones (1978) 1/10/21

The first time I heard today's “Great Song of 1978,” I thought to myself, “The Rolling Stones recorded a disco song? Why??”

Well, apparently, Mick Jagger LOVED the disco scene in Europe and was a regular on the dance floors in several clubs at the time.

But according to drummer Charlie Watts, “Miss You” was NOT a disco song; it was a Rhythm & Blues song with a heavy bass line. Mick and Ron Wood agreed. Keith Richards, however, claimed that it was always INTENDED to be a disco song.

The bass line of the song certainly drives the (disco?) beat. Bassist Bill Wyman says that Billy Preston actually came up with the bass line while the Stones were touring Europe in 1976. (Billy was the band's keyboard player for the tour.). Wyman polished it up and took it from there.

As for the lyrics, the general consensus from music critics was that the song was about the end of Mick's marriage to Bianca. Mick says it's not true: “Miss You” is actually about the emotion of “longing.”

Obviously, after all these years, it's still difficult to decide who's right about what!

But let me go back to the fact that I thought it was a disco song--because, to me, it SOUNDED like a disco song! And many other Stones fans thought so, too.

There were two schools of fandom opinion:

#1: It sucked. #2: It was fantastic—enough to make it a Top 15 hit in 13 countries!

In the US, it went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and Canada's Top 40...and here's a telling detail: the 8-minute 12-inch single remix version reached #6 on Billboard's Dance Chart and #4 on the matching Canadian chart! We played the remix extensively at She-nannigans in Eau Claire—with great success!

Another sign of greatness: Rolling Stone has “Miss You” at #498 on their list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time!”

So I guess it all comes down to this: “Miss You” is a “Great Song of the '70s,” no matter WHAT it's supposed to be!

Radio single/Album version:

12-inch Club Single remix: