10 Controversial Rolling Stones Songs

The Rolling Stones were controversial from their inception, as was evident in 1964 when they first came to America during the initial wave of the British Invasion, following the Beatles. They performed covers of Chicago blues standards in a belligerent rock and roll style and had a scruffy appearance compared to the Beatles’ well-groomed image and family-friendly songs. When they began writing their own original compositions, the songs explored themes of sex, power, race, violence and rebellion, which frequently landed them in hot water with censors, critics, radio stations and, later, even newer generations of listeners.

The following ten songs are some of the best examples of the Rolling Stones’ most controversial work.

“Brown Sugar“

“Brown Sugar” appeared on the Rolling Stones’ 1971 ninth studio album, Sticky Fingers, and became a No. 1 hit. It was co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and recorded during the period when Mick Taylor had replaced founding member Brian Jones on guitar. The racially charged song contains lyrics about Gold Coast slavery and sex with a young Black girl in New Orleans. Pressure from the negative public reaction to the lyrics ultimately resulted in the band dropping the song from its setlist in 2021.

“Brown sugar, how come you taste so good?

Brown sugar, just like a young girl should”

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was co-written by the songwriting team of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It has been interpreted in multiple ways, ranging from ordinary teenage angst to sexually suggestive lyrics that many considered too explicit. The song was a blues rock classic that hit mainstream audiences right between the eyes and both reflected and influenced the coming-of-age baby boomer generation. It became a statement of liberation and rebellion against a system that restrained or limited artistic expression. Rolling Stone called its riff one of the greatest blues rock riffs ever recorded.

“But he can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t smoke

The same cigarettes as me”

“Let’s Spend the Night Together”   

Another controversial Jagger/Richards composition is “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” The song was included on the American release of Between the Buttons, which was released in January 1967. Two days after the album’s release, the Rolling Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 15. At the time, the program was promoted as family entertainment and featured a variety of acts ranging from magicians and comedians to actors, ventriloquists and rock stars.

When the Rolling Stones appeared on the show, Ed Sullivan asked the band to change the lyrics to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together,” saying the original title was too sexually suggestive. The band complied and changed the lyrics, unlike Jim Morrison and the Doors, who refused to remove the word “higher” from “Light My Fire” nine months later.

“Let’s spend the night together

I’ll satisfy your every need, whoa my my”

“Midnight Rambler”

“Midnight Rambler” was penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and appears on the Rolling Stones’ eighth studio album, Let It Bleed, released in 1969. The album title proved somewhat prescient, as the Rolling Stones’ next concert, just over a week later, was the violent and bloody Altamont Free Concert. The event resulted in four deaths, including the fatal stabbing of a concertgoer by a member of the Hells Angels. The song itself was inspired by violence, as it was based on the notorious Boston Strangler, who murdered 13 women.

“Go easy with your cold fanged anger

I’ll stick my knife right down your throat baby, and it hurts”

“Some Girls”

“Some Girls” was the title track of the Rolling Stones’ 14th studio album, recorded in Paris, France, and released in June 1978. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song drew accusations of racism from civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, who called it a sexist “racial insult” that demeaned Black and Chinese women. Jagger defended the song, explaining that it was intended to be satirical.

 “Some girls give me jewelry, others buy me clothes

Some girls give me children, I never asked for”

“Star Star”

“Star Star” was originally titled “Starf**ker” and appeared on Goats Head Soup, the Rolling Stones’ 11th studio album, released in 1973. The Jagger/Richards composition uses crude lyrics about groupies, including explicit references to celebrity sex acts. The song’s overall vulgar and profane language has been considered offensive by many listeners.

“Yeah, Ali McGraw got mad with you

For givin’ head to Steve McQueen”

“Stray Cat Blues” 

“Stray Cat Blues” appeared on Beggars Banquet, released in December 1968, and was once again co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Over the past six decades, the song has been widely criticized for its underage themes and has been omitted from the band’s setlists at various times. The lyrics depict a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl, though Jagger has occasionally changed the age to 13 during live performances.

“You say you got a friend, she’s wilder than you

Why don’t you bring her upstairs?”

“Street Fighting Man” 

“Street Fighting Man” was the last song that founding member Brian Jones participated in recording before leaving the Rolling Stones. It appeared on Beggars Banquet in 1968 and was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Its creation was inspired by the explosive political turmoil unfolding on the streets of the United States and Europe at the time. It is considered the band’s most radical and political song, addressing the violence surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the escalating protests against the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement.

“Hey, said my name is called Disturbance

I’ll shout and scream, I’ll kill the king”

“Sympathy For the Devil”

The title of the song alone elicited a negative reaction, as did the fact that the lyrics were written from Lucifer’s perspective. It reflected the same antihero approach to storytelling that became popular at the end of the 1960s. Films such as Easy Rider and A Fistful of Dollars, as well as the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which was told from the perspective of the traitorous apostle Judas Iscariot, embraced a similar narrative style. It was also a period when rumors circulated that the Rolling Stones were dabbling in black magic, mysticism and even devil worship.

The song appeared on Beggars Banquet, released in 1968, and was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It was also performed at the tragic Altamont concert in December 1969, an event often regarded as the death knell of the hippie movement’s popularity.

“As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)

‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)”

“Under My Thumb”   

The main source of controversy surrounding “Under My Thumb” is its blatant misogyny rather than any single shocking lyric. The song vividly illustrates a reversal of power in a relationship, with the male character asserting dominance over the female. It is another composition co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and appeared on the Rolling Stones’ fourth studio album, Aftermath, released in 1966.

“Under my thumb

Is a squirming dog who’s just had her day”

These ten songs illustrate the extent to which a blues-based band could court controversy and help redefine what a mainstream rock song could say. The Rolling Stones’ refusal to soften topics dealing with lust, power, violence, race and rebellion put them at odds with censors, parents and radio programmers, yet they still achieved tremendous success. Some of these songs remain controversial to this day and, in some cases, have been quietly retired from the band’s setlists. Whether the controversy stemmed from sexual, political, racial or misogynistic themes, the lyrics ultimately sparked debate and challenged cultural norms.