Under My Thumb

"Under My Thumb" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for The Rolling Stones. Its first appearance was as an album track on 1966's Aftermath, and though it was never released as a single, it is one of the band's more popular songs from the period, appearing frequently on best-of compilations.

It was during a performance of the song at the infamous 1969 Altamont Free Concert that the Hells Angels who were guarding the Stones stabbed to death Meredith Hunter. The events appear in the Gimme Shelter movie.^[1]

"Under My Thumb" was featured prominently by the band on their 1981 USA Tour and 1982 European tour as the opening number at each concert. The Stones have played the song sporadically on subsequent tours in 1997-98 and 2006.

Lyrics and music

The song's lyrics are an examination of a sexual power struggle, in which Jagger's lyrics celebrate the satisfaction of finally having controlled and gained leverage over a previously pushy, dominating woman. The lyrics, which savour the successful "taming of the shrew" and compare the woman in question to a "pet", a "cat" and a "squirming dog" provoked some negative reactions, especially amongst feminists, who objected to the suppressive sexual politics of the male narrator.

Jagger later reflected on the track in a 1995 interview: "It's a bit of a jokey number, really. It's not really an anti-feminist song any more than any of the others... Yes, it's a caricature, and it's in reply to a girl who was a very pushy woman".^[2]

Like many of the songs from the Aftermath period, Under My Thumb uses more novel instrumentation than that featured on previous Stones records, including fuzz bass lines (played by Bill Wyman ^[3][4]), and, more notably, the marimba riffs, which provide the song's most prominent hook.

Altamont death

The song was also notable for its (unintentional) connection with the tragic death of Meredith Hunter at the notorious Altamont concert in 1969. The Stones were halfway into the number when a fight broke out between Hells Angels on the security detail and concertgoers, ultimately culminating in the stabbing of Hunter by Hells Angel Alan Passaro after Hunter pulled out a gun. It is disputed whether he was provoked, high, or (more likely) some combination of the two.

Cover versions

In 1967, after the imprisonment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, on drugs charges, The Who recorded covers of "Under My Thumb" and "The Last Time" as a single. The intention was to help Jagger and Richards make bail, but by the time the single was made available, they had been released. A version by The Who is available on the band's Odds and Sods CD remastered in 1998. The version released on Odds and Sods is not the original single version, but an unfinished mix that omits the lead guitar part.

Blind Faith covered the song at their 1969 debut in Hyde Park.

Del Shannon covered the song on his 1972 collection The Del Shannon Anniversary Album.

Iowan group, Truth and Janey, covered it for their 1976 release, No Rest for the Wicked.^[5]

The doom metal band Pentagram also recorded a cover of Under My Thumb in the 1970s. Originally released as a 7" single, it can now be found on their 2006 album First Daze Here Too.

Canadian rock band Streetheart recorded a cover of Under My Thumb in 1979. Streetheart's cover was their biggest hit on the Canadian Top 40 charts.

In the early 1980s, punk band Social Distortion covered the song before the release of their first LP. This version is now available on their rarities collection, Mainliner: Wreckage from the Past. In the mid-1990s they re-recorded it as a hidden track on their album, White Light, White Heat, White Trash, and also on Live at the Roxy, as it had become a live staple for the band.

"Weird Al" Yankovic used part of this song in his Rolling Stones medley "Hot Rocks Polka".

Comedian Sam Kinison recorded a version as part of his album Leader of the Banned.

The song was covered by Michael Hutchence of INXS, on the album Symphonic Music of The Rolling Stones, released in 1994.

Chicago based rock band The Hounds Covered the song on the album "Puttin' On The Dog" in 1979 under the Columbia Records label.

Chilean rock band Los Miserables recorded a Spanish-language cover of "Under my Thumb", based on the Social Distortion's version. In this version, "Bajo este Sol" ("Under this Sun"), the lyrics are unrelated to the original work, conserving only the melodic line of the Rolling Stones' original. Bajo este Sol is included in the album Date Cuenta (2000).

A cover of the song came in 1974 by Wayne Gibson, who had initially recorded the track in 1966 for Columbia Records. His cover was re-released on the Pye label where it reached the top 20 in the UK singles chart, with Gibson performing the song on popular TV shows of the time such as BBC's Top of the Pops and Crackerjack and on Granada's pop show 45.

Industrial metal band Ministry with Burton C. Bell covered "Under My Thumb" on their 2008 covers album Cover Up, with some minor lyrical changes. This version was nominated for the 51st Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance.

Tina Turner recorded the song on her second solo album "Acid Queen" in 1975.

Catalan music Pascal Comelade recorded an instrumental version of the song in his 2008 Stones cover album Compassió pel dimoni distributed exclusively with magazine Enderrock

Notes

External links

• Complete Official Lyrics