{"id":704042,"date":"2026-07-21T21:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/704042\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T21:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:15:13","slug":"when-the-rolling-stones-cracked-the-pop-formula-in-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/704042\/","title":{"rendered":"When The Rolling Stones cracked the pop formula in 1969"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mick<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n

Tue 21 July 2026 19:00, UK <\/p>\n

Pop is scarcely a word that fits into the image of The Rolling Stones<\/a> during their 1960s heyday, when Mick Jagger\u2019s outfit represented the pinnacle of youthful, anarchic, cutting-edge rock and roll rebellion. Nevertheless, the group certainly cut their material from the cloth provided by the pop handbook. <\/p>\n

If pop is more of a sonic approach than a specific sound, then it is difficult to argue against The Stones being lumped in with the prevailing pop stars of the 1960s, even if they shared little in common with the likes of Lulu or Cilla Black.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only did Jagger and the gang strike upon a multitude of pop smash-hits during the course of that legendary decade, but the very structure of much of their output was geared towards a pop audience, albeit one which had no qualms about rock and roll revolution. <\/p>\n

Some tracks were more pop-centric in their approach than others, of course. It is difficult, for instance, to recall many other pop songs of the mid-1960s built around Brian Jones\u2019 newfound penchant for the sitar, as in \u2018Paint It Black\u2019<\/a>. Similarly, there weren\u2019t many pop hits of that time to quite so explicitly deal with sexual frustration, other than \u2018(I Can\u2019t Get No) Satisfaction\u2019. On some Jagger-Richards efforts, though, the pair perfected their pop formula. <\/p>\n

One such track, according to Mick Jagger himself, was the band\u2019s 1969 effort \u2018You Can\u2019t Always Get What You Want\u2019, released as the B-side to their UK number-one single \u2018Honky Tonk Women\u2019<\/a>. Composed by Jagger on an acoustic guitar as little more than a bedroom jam, the song ended up becoming one of The Stones\u2019 definitive anthems and, as far as its writer was concerned, a slice of pop perfection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good song, even if I say so myself,\u201d he once declared. \u201cIt\u2019s got a very sing-along chorus, and people can identify with it: No one gets what they always want. It\u2019s got a very good melody\u2026 It\u2019s got very good orchestral touches\u2026it\u2019s got all the ingredients.\u201d In other words, the song is about as perfect a pop effort as The Stones ever achieved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Jagger\u2019s appreciation for his own song is understandable, it having \u201call the ingredients\u201d of a pop anthem with widespread appeal is certainly debatable \u2013 or, rather, it might be accused of having too many of those elements. After all, the album mix of the song clocks in at seven-and-a-half minutes and features the London Bach Choir, along with a litany of orchestral contributions. None of that, it hardly needs to be said, is typically found in your run-of-the-mill, two-minute pop ditty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

Such is the power of The Rolling Stones, though, that they could rocket such an unlikely track into the epicentre of the collective musical consciousness. Exceedingly few rival groups could manage to reach the top of the pop charts, much less with a B-side lasting five minutes in its trimmed-down form. <\/p>\n

Perhaps, then, Jagger was right about it having all the elements to make it successful, even if its physical structure bore little resemblance to the accepted pop formula responsible for most of the chart-toppers of the era. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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