Let’s Spend the Night Together19th Nervous BreakdownRocks OffGet Off of My CloudTumbling DiceRuby TuesdayYou Can’t Always Get What You WantLiving in a Ghost TownStart Me UpHonky Tonk WomenConnectionSlipping AwayMiss YouPlay VideoMidnight RamblerPaint It BlackSympathy for the DevilJumpin’ Jack FlashGimme Shelter(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

The above is a setlist from a recent Rolling Stones concert. Notice anything unusual or missing?

The Stones have hit the road again. The “No Filter” tour, which was interrupted by the pandemic, resumed in September. There are two major changes. Steve Jordan has replaced the late Charlie Watts on drums and the Stones are no longer playing “Brown Sugar.”

Fifty years ago, the Stones released the “Sticky Fingers” album. The opening track, “Brown Sugar”, soon became one of their most popular songs. Since its release, the band has played it in concert more than 1100 times. That’s second only to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” They’ve played it in every show since 1971.

Obviously, the song is extremely popular with Stones’ fans and concert-goers. It’s easy to understand why. “Brown Sugar” begins with a legendary guitar riff. Later, there’s the classic sax solo from Bobby Keys. It ends with a sing-a-long with Mick…..”Yeah…yeah…yeah…WOOO!!” It’s a brilliant piece of music except for one thing…the lyrics. Oh man, those lyrics.

To say that the lyrics are shocking is an understatement. It starts with slavery, violence and prostitution. It’s also racist and misogynistic. You add it all together and it’s more than a little distasteful and problematic. It’s downright offensive.

So what happened in 2021 that wasn’t there in 1971. Besides being in the “Me, too” era, people actually found the real words to the song. I know that sounds strange, but fifty years ago you didn’t have multiple outlets to find song lyrics. There was no internet or Google. You had to listen to the song and try to decipher what Jagger was singing. That was almost impossible. Hell, I only found the actual words to “Brown Sugar” about a decade ago. For about forty years, I was making up the words to the song…as were most listeners.

It’s not as if Mick Jagger and Keith Richards didn’t know the song was controversial. “I never would write that song now. I would probably censor myself.”, Jagger told Rolling Stone magazine in a 1995 interview. So now they’ve stopped playing it in concert, although it’s taken twenty-six years since that statement.

But most likely “Brown Sugar” isn’t gone for good. While Keith Richards sort of understands the controversy, he also kind of wants it back in their repertoire:

“I’m trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn’t they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they’re trying to bury it. At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this shit,” he said. “But I’m hoping that we’ll be able to resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track.”

In spite of all this controversy over one song, the real question is what will their fans want? Tickets for their next concert in Los Angeles are pricey. They start at $150 on Stubhub for seats high up and far away from the stage. If you want to sit close to Mick, Keith and Ronnie, be prepared to spend $1000 and up. For those prices, you want to hear your favorite songs. “Brown Sugar” is definitely one of the favorites of most hardcore fans. Plus, the band doesn’t want to disappoint the people who made them rich by not playing the songs they want to hear. Mick and Keith have learned that to keep people coming back and paying those big bucks you have to give them what they want. That’s how you have an almost six-decade-long music career.

It’s a tricky situation. The fans want to hear “Brown Sugar.” The band wants to play “Brown Sugar.” It’s a conundrum. But as another Rolling Stones classic song says, “You can’t always get what you want.”

Related Post: Mick Jagger-When it comes to children, eight is enough

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.