"Star Star" (originally titled "Starfucker") is a song recorded by the English rock band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

. It was written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

. The song was released as a single for the band's album ''

Goats Head Soup ''Goats Head Soup'' is the 11th British and 13th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 31 August 1973 by Rolling Stones Records. Like its predecessor '' Exile on Main St.'', the band composed and ...

'' (1973), with " Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The song's title was changed to "Star Star" from "Starfucker" after Ahmet Ertegün of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

insisted on the change.

Background

The song gained notoriety not only for explicit lyrics alluding to sex acts involving fruit (among other things) but also for controversial mentions of such celebrities as

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

and

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

. It was released about nine months after

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Th ...

's affair with Jagger and the release of the song " You're So Vain", on which Jagger provided background vocals. Simon, who was by now married to fellow singer-songwriter

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

, had moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, which is mentioned in the lyrics of "Star Star". The lyric "Yeah, you and me we made a pretty pair" also echoes the verse "well you said that we made such a pretty pair" in "You're So Vain." While discussing the song, the band members have always referred to the song by its original title. A live performance was captured and released on 1977's ''

Love You Live ''Love You Live'' is a double live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1977. It is drawn from Tour of the Americas shows in the US in the summer of 1975, Tour of Europe shows in 1976 and performances from the El Mocambo nightclub conce ...

.'' Atlantic tinkered with the mix in order to suppress the key expletives, but the very first promo copies were pressed unaltered. The opening lick, stabs in the verses and solo are played by

and the rhythm guitar by Mick Taylor.

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

line enters in at the second verse.

Lyrics and music

"Star Star" was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The song was recorded by

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew "Andy" Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' ...

Rob Fraboni Robert Alan Fraboni (born 23 April 1951) is an American, California-born record producer and audio engineer, well known for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie R ...

, and Baker Bigsby at

Dynamic Sounds West Indies Records Limited (WIRL) was a recording studio in Kingston, Jamaica established by future Prime Minister Edward Seaga in 1958. Seaga recruited and recorded many artists such as Higgs and Wilson, and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. As Seag ...

studio in Kingston, Jamaica; Village Recorders in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

; Island Studios in London; Olympic Studios in London. It was produced by

Jimmy Miller James Miller (March 23, 1942 – October 22, 1994) was an American record producer and musician. While he produced albums for dozens of different bands and artists, he is most closely associated for his work with several key musical acts of ...

. Musically, "Star Star" is a song with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

influences, and opens with the same riff as the song " Johnny B. Goode".

Critical reception

The BBC boycotted "Star Star", though not before it was played during a late-night news item about the 1973 Wembley concerts, part of the Goats Heads Soup tour. Writing for the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' in a retrospective review, Heath McCoy stated that "Star Star" "epitomized the excess of the seventies."

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon's book ''All the Songs''. *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, writer *

–electric guitar incl. solo

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Mick Taylor –electric guitar *

–bass guitar *

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Ian Stewart –piano *

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Ni ...

–saxophone *

–producer *

–

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

–

* Baker Bigsby –

* Carlton Lee –assistant sound engineer * Howard Kilgour –assistant sound engineer * Doug Bennett –assistant sound engineer

Charts

Cover versions

*In 1978, the Swedish artist

Magnus Uggla Per Allan Magnus Claësson Uggla (pronounced ; born 18 June 1954) is a Swedish artist, composer, actor, and occasional radio host. He is known for his satirical lyrics. Uggla was born in Stockholm. He was the lead singer of the hard rock band ...

did a punk rock cover of the song with lyrics in Swedish called "Stjärnluder" ("Star Whore") on his album ''

Vittring ''Vittring'' is a 1978 studio album by Swedish pop and rock artist Magnus Uggla. Released in September 1978, it was his fourth studio album. The album was recorded with the English punk rock band Stadium Dogs. "Stjärn...r" is a Swedish version ...

''. *

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

included a completely uncensored version as an unlisted

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as to ...

on the cassette version of her 1983 album ''

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' CA, MCAC-5437 which resulted in a ban of this tape by

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and other stores. MCA then issued a second cassette version Album Only Version"in a red plastic box MCA, MCAC-5445that deleted the objectionable song."Banned song makes Joan Jett 'Album' cassette a rarity" The Star Ledger newspaper, Wednesday August 23, 1983 edition The song reappeared on her ''Flashback'' compilation in 1993.

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1973 songs Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller 1973 singles Obscenity controversies in music Protopunk songs British rock-and-roll songs Songs about actors Songs about groupies Songs about musicians Songs banned by the BBC Virgin Records singles