The Rolling Stones hit #1 with “Miss You”

Miss You The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (see lyrics here) Released: May 10, 1978 First Charted: May 27, 1978 Peak: 11 US, 1 2 CB, 11 GR, 3 HR, 1 1 RR, 33 RB, 1 CL, 3 UK, 1 2 CN, 8 AU, 9 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.25 UK, 1.25 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 127.2 video, 180.48 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In the 1970s, there were “people like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and the Who were doing just fine without every playing around with disco.” SG However, “a few rockers had messed around with disco, trying to figure it out.” SG The Rolling Stones were one such band. After “three less-than-stellar albums,” TC “they’d been written off by a fickle rock press as lumbering dinosaurs.” FB “With ‘Miss You’ the Rolling Stones proved they were far from extinct.” FB It “blended the band’s essential rock with its newfound sound.” FB It “is, more or less, a disco song. It’s just a very Rolling Stones version of a disco song.” SG It showcases “a great band understanding how to play around with a cool new sound without sacrificing any of what made them great in the first place.” SG They “played disco as an insistent, bluesy slither.” SG The Stones “had remained in a perpetual state of chaos” SG since their last chart topper, 1973’s “Angie.” They’d only hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts once since (1976’s “Fool to Cry”). Mick Taylor left and was replaced by Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards was looking at what could have been a years-long drug-related prison sentence SG that luckily ended in probation. Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts hit the discos. Jagger in particular spent a lot of time hanging out at New York’s Studio 54 with model Jerri Hall. While “Miss You” is credited to Jagger and Richards, it was mostly Jagger who came up with the “depraved-ooze club groove.” SG He was jamming with keyboardist Billy Preston, who came up with the bass line, which Bill Wyman polished into a “walking octave bass part” TB after visits to quite a few clubs. WK Vocally, Jagger “gargles and pants and howls and grunts and launches into falsetto yips.” SG Lyrically he was inspired by the deterioration of his relationship with his wife, Bianca. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 486. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 446-7. SF Songfacts SG Stereogum “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Pages 178-9. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/26/2021; last updated 9/19/2023.