Start Me Up

by

The Rolling Stones

Album: Tattoo You      Released: 1981

US Chart: 2     UK Chart: 7

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The Stones first recorded this at the Some Girls sessions in 1977. After the first 2 takes, they recorded it with a Reggae beat a bunch of times, but didn't like the result. They put it away until 4 years later, when they needed a song for Tattoo You. They went back to the second take and reworked it for the album.

Keith Richards: "The story here is the miracle that we ever found that track. I was convinced - and I think Mick was - that it was definitely a Reggae song. And we did it in 38 takes - 'Start me up. Yeah, man, cool. You know, you know, Jah Rastafari.' And it didn't make it. And somewhere in the middle of a break, just to break the tension, Charlie and I hit the Rock And Roll version. And right after that we went straight back to Reggae. And we forgot totally about this one little burst in the middle, until about 5 years later when somebody sifted all the way through these Reggae takes. After doing about 70 takes of "Start Me Up" he found that one in the middle. It was just buried in there. Suddenly I had it. Nobody remembered cutting it. But we leapt on it again. We did a few overdubs on it, and it was like a gift, you know? One of the great luxuries of The Stones is we have an enormous, great big can of stuff. I mean what anybody hears is just the tip of an iceberg, you know. And down there is vaults of stuff. But you have to have the patience and the time to actually sift through it." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Microsoft paid $10 million to use this for their Windows '95 advertising campaign. Although it became common practice in years to come, this was one of the first times a hit song was used in a major marketing campaign.

The Stones first recorded this in Paris the same day in 1977 that they recorded "Miss You."

As he did with "Honky Tonk Women" and some other Stones songs, Keith Richards played this in open G tuning. The guitar tablature contains notation for just the top 5 strings. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

This became a staple at sporting events. It is usually played before some kind of action or the start of a game.

The Stones used this to open their 1989 Steel Wheels tour.

Ford used this in ads that started just after midnight on January 1, 2003. It was part of a campaign to reintroduce their cars to the American public, with commercials airing on sporting events as well as an episode of The Simpsons where Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were guest stars. This was the first time a Stones song was used in a car commercial.

The Stones played this at halftime of the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. Two years earlier, Janet Jackson had her famous "Wardrobe Malfunction" during her performance, so the NFL wasn't taking any chances - they cut the volume on the line "You make a dead man come."

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Comments:

Back in the 80s, there was this very, very popular radio station in Mexico City, called Rock101. When they started, at 06:00 AM of June 1st, 1984, the first song aired was Start me up
- Jesus Herrera, MEXICO, --

someone told me Smoky Robinson recorded Start Me Up before the Stones. Where can I get info on this?
- Ben, SD, Albania

It is good to know that the Rolling Stones reinvigorated the good old days of disco music.Disco Duck is bad,just aweful but I can really dance with this song.I can boogie oogie oogie all night long with this song. Eat your heart out K C and the donna suumer sunshine band.
- john, Brisbane, United States

The line Jagger closes the song with is a nod to the 30s recording by Lucille Bogan (pseudonym Bessie Jackson) which featured the verse: 'I've got nipples on my titties as big as you thumb, I've got a ***** between my legs'd make a dead man cum'. (Bill Wyman mentions this recording in an interview with Conan O'Brien in the 1990s in reference to his blues anthology publication. Rock on!)
- Stephen, Dublin, Ireland

The beginning drum intro played by Charlie Watts was a studio blunder. Charlie had a difficult time finding beat one due to the odd riff by Keith and messed up on the recording but quickly fixed it once the song kicked in. They decided to keep it due to its odd feel.
- Steve, Troy, NY

The line "Little chicken you will blow my top" is answered in the Stones 2005 song ROUGH JUSTICE with the line, "One time you were my baby chicken, now you've grown into a fox."
- Susan, Toronto, Canada

It's been well documented over time and in Goldmine magazine that Start Me Up was recorded for Black And Blue, which was from late 1974 through early 1976 (as were 2 other tunes on Tattoo You). Hence when Keith says five years, 1977 is not five years and besides, the drum sound alone does not fit Some Girls.
- Skip, Mandeville, LA

Often used to start concerts, in Sydney they started with Jumping Jack Flash. Start me up was performed in the middle of the show. A wall of flames shot across the mammoth stage as Keith started the intro.
- Craig, melbourne, Australia

i would say keith richards he has written most of the lyrics and riffs for some of the most popular stones songs
- rock rules, Chennai, India

They played this in the Bridges To Babylon tour in 1997-00'
- Dylan, Branson, MO

amazing song my friend says if he"ll start me up ill never stop
- Steve, Winnipeg, Canada

"Start Me Up" was also covered by The Folksmen (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Schearer) in the soundtrack for the mockumentary "A Mighty WInd." They try to do it as a folksong with very funny results.
- BJ Gumby, Wilmington, DE

I guess he didn't listen closely enough to the lyrics. The guy from Ontariothat is.
- Stefanie, Rock Hill, SC

I thought the Stones were OK at the Superbowl, but it, in my opinion, wasn't the best thing ever or anything.
- Stefanie, Rock Hill, SC

Mick or Keith?
- Bram, Zoetermeer, Netherlands

Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris wanted to use this song for his re-election campaign in the 1990s, until he was told it was about sex which didn't really fit in with his "Common Sense Revolution".
- Steve, Ottawa, Canada

I just love this song The lyrics sucks,but the song just starts me up everytime=)
- Andrej, Ljubljana, Other

Hey Mike, did we watch the same performance? The Stones were awesome at the Superbowl! what exactly was your complaint?
- Ethan, Portland, OR

The Stones played this song during halftime at Super Bowl XL. The last two lines were censored by ABC. ABC had announced that they were instituting a 5-second delay for the half-time performance on the Friday afternoon prior to the game. However, they didn't use the delay, they just turned off Mic's microphone during those lines. They did the same thing during the song "Rough Justice', deleting one word at the beginning of that song.
- Rick, Seattle, WA

The Super Bowl XL performance proved that the Stones still make a lot of money for over-the-hill rockers...rubbish, pure rubbish.
- Mike, Warwick, RI

Turning Japanese was my first songfaq. But I forgot about the site for about 3 months. Then I searched "Jets" by Paul McCartney and then I got back into songfacts. You guys rock. Live forever.
- Johnny, Los Angeles, CA

i saw the rolling stones in concert in august, in CT. they opened with start me up. pretty good song.
- renee, Corona, CA

I remember hearing this on The Simpsons. Very good episode.
- Jonathan, Oklahoma City, OK

start me up was my first song fact!! it was about a year ago and at that time i was really into this song, i wanted to know more about it ya know. i wanted to know the year the meaning, the lyrics, exc. anyway so im searching for any info on it, and i come across this site, needles to say i was very satisfied and after lookin at some other songs i decided to join, and that was that.
- Charlie, Thomaston, CT

This song also featured in the 1996 film, "The Fan" starring Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes. DeNiro sings it when it comes on the radio when he is driving his son to Baseball Open Day?.
- Taal, Brisbane, Australia

At the end of the song when Jagger repeats the line "You make a grown man cry", he also sings something else. The song fades out with Jagger singing "You make a dead man cum". This line is from some really old blues song from the 1930's. I forget what it's called or who it's by.
- mitch, colton, CA

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