(Credits: Far Out / Nationaal Archief)
Fri 5 September 2025 19:00, UK
By the mid-1970s, The Rolling Stones’ magic had begun to ebb.
They’d entered the decade at the peak of their mythology. With Let It Bleed behind them and Sticky Fingers in gestation, The Stones were at the top of their game while many of their British invasion peers had already crashed and burned. Critical consensus typically deems 1972’s Exile on Main St as the finale to this glowing chapter, but while the following year’s Goats Head Soup is underrated, The Stones strutted into a realm of unwitting parody.
They’re not bad albums, but the vitality had certainly waned by the time of cartoon cuts like ‘It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It)’ or ‘Hot Stuff’s cod-reggae. In a few short years, The Stones had found themselves lumped with the classic rock dinosaur tag by a new underground cohort of punks and disco dancers who, at least rhetorically, viewed them as the old guard, never mind that much of the UK punks quietly admired and even hung out with guitarist Keith Richards.
Still, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Soaking up punk’s ephemeral fire and disco’s dancefloor grooves, The Stones stumbled upon one of their most classic hits, heralding their glorious rebirth for a new generation. Worked out in a jam during rehearsals for their March 1977 El Mocambo shows in Toronto, an emerging bassline that snaked around a four-on-the-floor bass-drum part would provide The Stones with their next Billboard Hot 100 chart topper.
Leading 1978’s Some Girls, ‘Miss You’ provided The Stones with a canonical number, effortlessly imbued with a subtle Philadelphia soul gloss but crackling with just a dash of punk grit. They’d struck gold. Yet, while bassist Bill Wyman played a major hand in shaping the groove conjured on the rehearsal demo, ‘Miss You’s initial sketch was conjured up by an R&B session legend often dubbed an “honourable Beatle”.
While the “fifth Beatle” mantle is rightly afforded to EMI producer George Martin, keyboardist Billy Preston comes a close second for that honour. Already boasting credits with the likes of The Everly Brothers, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles, Preston became one of the very few artists from the world of rock and pop to officially contribute to a Fab Four recording, the other being Eric Clapton’s uncredited guitar solo on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.
Having known each other since sharing billing with Little Richard, whom Preston was backing, as early as 1962, Preston was first invited into The Beatles’ inner circle for the Let It Be sessions, seriously in need of an outside artist to inspire some creativity, as well as keeping the fractious band members on their best behaviour. Preston would prove invaluable, his organ magic dazzling all over ‘Get Back’, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, and Abbey Road’s ‘Something’, among many others, and would join the band onstage atop the Apple headquarters roof for their fabled 1969 impromptu gig.
Three years after The Beatles came to a close, Preston found himself an “honorary Stone”, joining the band for their 1973 European tour and often opening the show with his The God Squad band, including The Stones’ Mick Taylor. He’d lend his magic keys on numerous Stones records from then, but ‘Miss You’s groove would stand as the band’s most consequential, ushering The Stones’ ‘comeback’, leading to 1982’s Tattoo You last hurrah.
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