(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
The Rolling Stones - "Honky Tonk Women"
Hit Number 1: August 23, 1969
Stay at Number 1: 4 Weeks
Tragedy struck the Rolling Stones in the summer of 1969. Likely "helped" from his increasing drug problems, founding member Brian Jones drowned in his pool at his home in July 1969. This could have proven to be a huge blow to the Stones, as Jones was always one of the more underappreciated members of the band. Without him, I don't know that "Paint It Black" ever exists, and without him, the Stones might not have ever existed in the first place. Obviously, the Stones still prevailed without him, but at this time, there was no way of knowing what a Jones-less future would hold for them. That's one little piece of interesting trivia connected with "Honky Tonk Women", which was one of the songs the band recorded in Jones' final session with the group.
"Honky Tonk Women" was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while the two were on vacation in Brazil. It was inspired by what they call "caipiras" in Brazil, who are people who live in the rural areas of the country. That's interesting to note, because if you're not paying close enough attention to the lyrics, you might think that the Stones are just singing about some women at a country bar. Of course, the Stones would have to make it a little dirtier than that. Instead, the song is about a prostitute dancing at the said country bar. The band delivers an intense sense of excitement by it all, and they can't contain it inside themselves. The chorus explodes. They also give out some good, fun harmonies in the song too, which was something the Stones didn't do a whole lot of. But I have to admit, they sound great together on that chorus.
"Honky Tonk Women" is also noted for its cowbell intro, before Charlie Watts begins his drum banging. The song continues to build more and more, before that chorus slaps you in the face. The guitar strums are in perfect timing, and it moves at a graceful pace. The band has said that "Honky Tonk Women" was inspired by not only Jagger and Richards' vacation, but also from old country songs by guys like Hank Williams. "Honky Tonk Women" is, pretty clearly, not a country song. You can't just throw in the word "honky tonk" and pretend it's a country song. But when a song slaps as hard as "Honky Tonk Women" does, does anyone really care about that? The Stones were moving away from their period of masterpieces, and instead were putting out fun bangers. That's really not such a bad thing! Though the reason we might be done with the Stones' best music could be because of the passing of Jones. Obviously it sucks to lose a key figure of music like that, especially because I don't think he ever got the credit he deserved, but he had to have been proud about what they did with "Honky Tonk Women". Even in 2020, the song is still a fun banger to play on those long road trips or those crazy college parties. It's timeless.
GRADE: 8/10
JUST MISSED:
Johnny Cash's awesome story-song "A Boy Named Sue" peaked at #2 behind "Honky Tonk Women". It's a 9. (Surprisingly, this was Johnny Cash's only top ten hit)
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