Some Girls

Some Girls is an album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1978. Widely considered a highlight of their output, the album revitalized the band's career considerably upon its release and re-established The Rolling Stones as a vital rock and roll band in an era infused with punk rock and disco.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following the perceived mid-1970s lean period that produced worthy albums such as Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock'n Roll and Black and Blue, The Rolling Stones were confonted with serious career threats in the form of new musical genres and a human liability within the group.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the advent of punk, The Rolling Stones, among many of their musical contemporaries, were being targeted by the leaders of the movement as cultural dinosaurs, compromising their standing. Mick Jagger, rising to the challenge, felt invigorated by the provocations and was determined to answer them lyrically. This would have a dramatic effect on the resulting music.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Far more serious was the issue of Keith Richards and his highly-publicized heroin possession bust in Toronto in early 1977. While he cleaned up for good that summer after realizing the gravity of the situation - as a result reinvigorating his desire to get back into the music, there was still the very real possibilty that he may be sent to jail for years. Fortunately, in October of 1978, he received a light sentence: to perform a show for charity. As a commemoration of his second lease in life following the end of his heroin addiction, Keith reverted his surname back to "Richards" with an "s" for Some Girls, after fifteen years without it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sessions for Some Girls began in October 1977, breaking before Christmas and starting up again after New Year's before finishing in March 1978. Under their new British recording contract with EMI Records (remaining with Warner Music in North America only), they were able to record at EMI's Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, a venue they would do much recording at for the next several years. The Rolling Stones ended up recording about fifty new songs, several of which would turn up in altered forms on Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the first time since 1968's Beggars Banquet, the core band of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood and Bill Wyman would be the only musicians on a Rolling Stones album, with few extra contributors. Ian McLagan played keyboards, Sugar Blue on harmonica and Simon Kirke (jokingly credited as "a Jew") on percussion. In addition, Jagger had decided to play guitar on many of the songs; this caused the band's road manager, Ian Stewart, to absent himself from many of the sessions, making this a rare Rolling Stones album he doesn't appear on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The album cover for Some Girls was designed by Peter Corriston, who would design the next three album covers as well. An elaborate die-cut design, with colors varying on different sleeves, it featured The Rolling Stones and select female celebrities in garish drag, as well as a bunch of lingerie ads. The cover immediately ran into trouble when Lucille Ball and Racquel Welch threatened legal action. It was withdrawn and the offending pictures removed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another controversy surrounded the lyrics to the title song, an extended musing on women of various nationalities and races. A reference to African-American women and their sexual appetites drew strong protests from various groups, including Jesse Jackson.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In May 1978, the first single from the album, "Miss You", a rhythm-heavy soul song with a hint of disco, was released to very strong response, garnering The Rolling Stones their last US #1 hit and reaching #3 in the UK. Some Girls appeared in June to a very welcoming audience, reaching #1 in the US and #2 in the UK, becoming their biggest-selling studio album in the process (currently certified six times platinum in the US alone). It was also a huge critical success, with many reviewers calling it a return to form, and their best album since 1972's Exile on Main St.. "Beast Of Burden", "Respectable" and "Shattered" would follow as the next singles, all becoming hits as well.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Stones embarked on a summer tour of the US in support of the album, which for the first time saw them mount several small venue shows, sometimes under a pseudonym. This would become standard practice for the band's future tours.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2002, Some Girls was listed as number 269 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1994, Some Girls was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Rolling Stones: :For other uses, see Rolling Stones (disambiguation)...

1978: 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar)....

Rock and roll: :For other uses of "Rock and roll", see Rock and roll (disambiguation)....

Some Girls related Images and Photos (experimental)

The Rolling Stones Some Girls Men's T-Shirt	Girls	Girls! Girls! Girls! 1962	Girls! Girls! Girls! 1962
Girl's Face	Girl's Best Friend	Girls Rule	Girls Rock
Girls Together	Betty Boop Girl's Night Statue	A Girl's Guide to Dating a Geek	Girls & Cars II