"Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones

Top 10 Alert!

Rated 10 Alert!

Song#:  0724
Date:  08/22/1981
Debut:  61
Peak:  2
Weeks:  24
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Q: If you don't already know, how do you know when you are crazy talented? A: When you toss together an album of outtakes and it becomes a classic. That is basically what the Stones did with "Tattoo You." Hard pressed for time to get an album out before a tour and with the kids (Mick and Keith) not getting along too well, it was suggested that there was already a wealth of material that they recorded and shelved from various albums that could be used. They culled nine outtakes or backing tracks and worked them up along with two new songs and voila - new album! "Tattoo You" would be a critical and a commercial success and this first single got things going by spending three weeks at #2.

ReduxReview:  This is it. This is the song that got me hooked on the Stones. Obviously I knew a lot of their hits, but they didn't interest me all that much. And then this song came out. I think the guitar lick at the top followed by the big echoed smack of the drum blew me to the back of the room. In a matter of a few seconds I was like, "now I get it!" It left me slightly dazed and hungry for more. In the history of rock they certainly have classics that may outshine this, but for me, this is my top Stones groove. Like they say, you never forget your first...

ReduxRating:  10/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) "Tattoo You" spent nine weeks at #1 on the album chart. It would be their eighth consecutive studio album to reach the top spot. It would also be their last to do so and it basically signaled the end of their chart heyday. "Start Me Up" would also be their last single to reach the Top 3.  2) This song was originally recorded in 1975 and done in a reggae-rock style. It didn't seem to gel, so the track got shelved. It was revisited twice more in 1978 (as "Never Stop") and 1979 (as "Start It Up") minus the reggae feel, but the track still couldn't make the cut. They finally got it worked out for "Tattoo You" and it is considered by many to be the last classic single issued by the group.

_________________________________________________________________________________