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{{Short description|1969 single by the Rolling Stones}}{{about|the Rolling Stones song|the Cowboy Bebop episode|List of Cowboy Bebop episodes}}{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}{{More citations needed|date=July 2007}}

factoids

• rock and roll{{Allmusic|class=song|id=mt0027536859|label=Song Review by Richie Unterberger|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|access-date=19 May 2007}}

m=3|s=03}}Decca Records>Decca (UK)

• London (US)| writer = Jagger–Richards| producer = Jimmy Miller| chronology = Rolling Stones UK singles| prev_title = Jumpin’ Jack Flash| prev_year = 1968

Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones song)>Brown Sugar| next_year = 1971| misc = {hide}Extra chronology {edih}{{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|urqALF0-dX4|“Honky Tonk Women“}}}} }}”Honky Tonk Women” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released as a non-album single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom, and a week later in the United States (a country version called ”Country Honk” was later included on the album Let It Bleed). It topped the charts in both nations.BOOK, Elliott, Martin, The Rolling Stones: Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2002, Cherry Red Books, 2002, 1-901447-04-9, 148, The song was on Rolling Stone{{’}}s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Inspiration and recording

The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on holiday in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969, inspired by Brazilian “caipiras” (inhabitants of rural, remote areas of parts of Brazil) at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying in Matão, São Paulo.WEB,www.revistakappa.com.br/edicoes/saocarlos/edicao_92/index.html?pageNumber=100, Kappa Magazine, 100, Revistakappa.com.br, 2016-10-02, Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), and a honky-tonk version entitled “Country Honk” with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let It Bleed (1969).Thematically, a “honky tonk woman” refers to a dancing girl in a western bar; the setting for the narrative in the first verse of the rock-and-roll version is Memphis, Tennessee: “I met a gin soaked bar-room queen in Memphis”, while “Country Honk” sets the first verse in Jackson, Mississippi: “I’m sittin’ in a bar, tipplin’ a jar in Jackson”.The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women”. Time Is on Our Side. (accessed 19 May 2007).The band initially recorded the track called “Country Honk” in London in early March 1969. Brian Jones was present during these sessions and may have played on the first handful of takes and demos. It was his last recording session with the band.WEB,www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/honky_tonk_woman.htm, Honky Tonk Women, Keno.org, 2014-03-27, dead,www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/honky_tonk_woman.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20140201091847www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/honky_tonk_woman.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20140201091847www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/honky_tonk_woman.htm, 1 February 2014, dmy-all, WEB,www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/cohonk.html, Country Honk - Lyrics, Keno.org, 2014-03-27, dead,www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/cohonk.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20150108095300www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/cohonk.html,">web.archive.org/web/20150108095300www.keno.org/stones_lyrics/cohonk.html, 8 January 2015, dmy-all, The song was transformed into the familiar electric, riff-based hit single “Honky Tonk Women” sometime in the spring of 1969, prior to Mick Taylor joining the group. In an interview in the magazine Crawdaddy!, Richards credits Taylor for influencing the track: “... the song was originally written as a real Hank Williams/Jimmie Rodgers/1930s country song. And it got turned around to this other thing by Mick Taylor, who got into a completely different feel, throwing it off the wall another way.“BOOK, Appleford, Steve, The Rolling Stones It’s Only Rock and Roll: Song by Song, Schirmer Books, New York, 1997, 88, However, in 1979 Taylor recalled it this way: “I definitely added something to Honky Tonk Women, but it was more or less complete by the time I arrived and did my overdubs.“WEB, McPherson, Ian, Track Talk: Honky Tonk Women,www.timeisonourside.com/SOHonky.html, 27 August 2009, “Honky Tonk Women” is distinctive as it opens not with a guitar riff but with a beat played on a cowbell by producer Jimmy Miller.The concert rendition of “Honky Tonk Women” on Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! (1970) differs significantly from the studio hit, with a markedly dissimilar guitar introduction and the first appearance on vinyl of an entirely different second verse.

Release

The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones, with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” as the single’s B-side. In the UK, it remained on the charts for seventeen weeks, peaking at number one for five weeks. It remains the band’s last single to reach number one in their home country. The song also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks from 23 August 1969. It was later released on the compilation album Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) in September. Billboard ranked it as the No. 4 song overall for 1969.At the time of its release, Rolling Stone magazine hailed “Honky Tonk Women” as “likely the strongest three minutes of rock and roll yet released in 1969”.MAGAZINE, Marcus, Greil, 23 August 1969, Records,www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/honky-tonk-women-19690711,www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/honky-tonk-women-19690711," title="web.archive.org/web/20140821204954www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/honky-tonk-women-19690711,">web.archive.org/web/20140821204954www.rollingstone.com/music/songreviews/honky-tonk-women-19690711, dead, 21 August 2014, Rolling Stone, 40, 35, San Francisco, Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc., 25 April 2016, Record World said it was “the Rolling Stones at their funky best.“MAGAZINE, Single Picks of the Week, Record World, July 12, 1969, 1, 2023-05-05,worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/69/RW-1969-07-12.pdf, It was ranked number 116 on the list of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in April 2010.MAGAZINE, Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-rolling-stones-honky-tonk-women-20110526, Rolling Stone, April 2010, September 28, 2015, The song was later put into the track listing for the video game Band Hero. In 2014, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Single artwork and location by John Kosh with photo by Ethan Russell

Releases on compilation albums and live recordings

• Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969)
• Hot Rocks 1964–1971 (1971)
• (Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones) (1975)
• 30 Greatest Hits (1977)
• (Singles Collection: The London Years) (1989)
• Forty Licks (2002)
• Singles 1968–1971 (2005)
• GRRR! (2012)

Concert versions of “Honky Tonk Women” are included on the albums Live’r Than You’ll Ever Be (1969), ’Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!’ (recorded 1969, released 1970), Love You Live (recorded 1976, released 1977), Live Licks (recorded 2003, released 2004), Hyde Park Live (2013), Sticky Fingers (Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions) (recorded 1971, released 2015), Totally Stripped (recorded 1995, released 2016), and (The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon|Havana Moon) (2016). The song has appeared in numerous Stones concert films and boxed sets, including Stones in the Park, (Some Girls: Live in Texas ‘78|Some Girls: Live In Texas ‘78), Let’s Spend the Night Together, Stones at the Max, (The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge Live|Voodoo Lounge Live), Bridges to Babylon Tour ‘97–98, Four Flicks, The Biggest Bang, (Hyde Park Live#Sweet Summer Sun|Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live), and Havana Moon. Some of the live versions include a Paris verse not included on the original single.

“Country Honk”

{{one source|section|date=December 2016}}

factoids
name	Country Honk| artist = the Rolling Stones| album = Let It Bleed

countryBOOK, 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999, Mike, Segretto, 2022, 1969, 220–222, Backbeat, 9781493064601,books.google.com/books?id=jtNtEAAAQBAJ,

m=3|s=10}}| writer = Jagger/RichardsDecca Records/ABKCO Records>ABKCO (UK)

• London (US)

Jimmy Miller (producer)>Jimmy Miller}}”Country Honk” is a country version of “Honky Tonk Women”, recorded before it but released five months later on the album Let It Bleed (1969). As noted above, the country arrangement was the original concept of “Honky Tonk Women”. Richards has maintained that “Country Honk” is how “Honky Tonk Women” was originally written.“Country Honk” was recorded at Olympic Studios. Byron Berline played the fiddle on the track, and has said that Gram Parsons was responsible for him being chosen for the job (Berline had previously recorded with Parsons’ band the Flying Burrito Brothers). Producer Glyn Johns suggested that Berline should record his part on the pavement outside the studio to add ambiance to the number. Sam Cutler, the Rolling Stones’ tour manager, performed the car horn at the beginning of the track.Cutler, Sam. You Can’t Always Get What You Want - My Life with the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Other Wonderful Reprobates {{ISBN|978-1-74166-609-0}} Nanette Workman performs backing vocals on this version (although the album sleeve credits actress Nanette Newman). Berline’s fiddle and all vocals were recorded at Elektra. There is a bootleg recording in existence that contains neither the fiddle nor Mick Taylor’s slide guitar.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon,{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|pp=292–293, 308–311}} except where noted:

“Honky Tonk Women”

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger{{snd}} lead vocal, backing vocal{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=317}}
• Keith Richards{{snd}} backing vocal, lead guitar, rhythm guitar
• Mick Taylor{{snd}} lead guitar (fills){{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=316}}
• Bill Wyman{{snd}} bass
• Charlie Watts{{snd}} drums

{{col-2}}Additional personnel

• Nicky Hopkins{{snd}} piano{{refn|group=note|Margotin and Guesdon write Ian Stewart contributed piano,{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|pp=}} while authors Andy Babiuk and Greg Prevost write it was Hopkins.{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=317}}}}
• Jimmy Miller{{snd}} cowbell
• Steve Gregory and Bud Beadle{{snd}} saxophones
• Johnny Almond{{snd}} saxophone arrangements
• Madeline Bell{{snd}} backing vocals{{refn|group=note|While Babiuk and Prevost credit Bell with the song’s backing vocals,{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=317}} Margotin and Guesdon instead write it was Reparata and the Delrons, Doris Troy and Nanette Workman.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|pp=308–309}}}}

{{col-end}}

“Country Honk”

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger{{snd}} vocals, car horn{{refn|group=note|Margotin and Guesdon are uncertain whether Jagger or the Stones’ tour manager, Sam Cutler, honked the car’s horn.{{sfn|Margotin|Guesdon|2016|p=292}} Babiuk and Prevost write the horn was from Cutler’s car.{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=316}}}}
• Keith Richards{{snd}} backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• Mick Taylor{{snd}} steel slide guitar{{sfn|Babiuk|Prevost|2013|p=316}}
• Charlie Watts{{snd}} drums

{{col-2}}Additional personnel

• Byron Berline{{snd}} violin
• Nanette Workman{{snd}} backing vocals

{{col-end}}

Charts and certifications

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}

Weekly charts{|class“wikitable sortable”

! style="width:20em;“|Chart (1969)!Peakposition|Australia (Go-Set)1Austriaartist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}Belgium (Flanders)artist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}Canadatopsinglesartist=The Rolling Stoneschartid=6002|access-date=17 June 2016}}IFPI Denmark>IFPI)HTTPS://BOOKS.GOOGLE.COM/BOOKS?ID=RYKEAAAAMBAJ&Q=DENMARK>TITLE=BILLBOARDPUBLISHER=NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC., Google Books, 1Finland (The Official Finnish ChartsSoumen Virallinen)NYMAN TITLE=SUOMI SOI 4: SUURI SUOMALAINEN LISTAKIRJA YEAR=2005 EDITION=1ST PAGE=240, fi, 5Germanyartist=The Rolling Stonessongid=99|access-date=17 June 2016}}Ireland2artist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=18 June 2016}}Dutch100artist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}New Zealand Listener>Listener)HTTP://WWW.FLAVOUROFNZ.CO.NZ/INDEX.PHP?QPAGEID=SEARCH%20LISTENER&QARTISTID=27#N_VIEW_LOCATION >TITLE=FLAVOUR OF NEW ZEALAND - SEARCH LISTENER ACCESS-DATE=2016-10-02, 1Norwayartist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}Spain (Productores de Música de España)HTTP://LISTADESUPERVENTAS.BLOGSPOT.COM/2010/02/1969.HTMLDATE=12 FEBRUARY 2010, 5Sverigetopplistan>Kvällstoppen)HTTPS://WWW.NOSTALGILISTAN.SE/KVALLSTOPPEN/19690819>TITLE=LÃ¥TARNA FRÃ¥N KVäLLSTOPPEN 19 AUGUSTI 1969, NostalgiListan, 2Switzerlandartist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}UKsinglesbynameartist=Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}Billboardhot100artist=The Rolling Stonesaccess-date=17 June 2016}}{{col-2}}“>

Year-end charts{| class“wikitable”

!align=“left“|Chart (1969)! style="text-align:center;“|RankWEBSITE=COLLECTIONSCANADA.GC.CA, 2016-10-02, 16Billboard Hot 100HTTP://WWW.MUSICOUTFITTERS.COM/TOPSONGS/1969.HTM WEBSITE=MUSICOUTFITTERS.COM, 2016-10-02, 4“>

All-time charts{|class“wikitable plainrowheaders”

! Chart (1958–2018)! PositionBillboard Hot 100HTTPS://WWW.BILLBOARD.COM/CHARTS/HOT-100-60TH-ANNIVERSARYMAGAZINE=BILLBOARD, 10 December 2018, 195

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=The Rolling Stones|title=Honky Tonk Women|award=Platinum|certyear=2023|certref=WEB,www.dropbox.com/sh/k9o2q7p7o4awhqx/AAC2yJsCe2HEdgyNAuRyROPFa/Oct%202023%20Single%20Accreds.pdf?dl=0, Oct 2023 Single Accreds, Australian Recording Industry Association, 30 November 2023, }}{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Rolling Stones|title=Honky Tonk Women|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2021|id=17711-44-1|access-date=15 December 2021}}{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United States|artist=The Rolling Stones|title=Honky Tonk Woman|award=Gold|certyear=1969|access-date=17 June 2016}}{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}{{col-end}}

Notes

{{Reflist|group=note}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Sources

• BOOK, Babiuk, Andy, Prevost, Greg, Andy Babiuk, Rolling Stones Gear: All the Stones’ Instruments from Stage to Studio, 2013, Backbeat Books, Milwaukee, 978-1-61713-092-2,
• BOOK, Margotin, Philippe, Guesdon, Jean-Michel, The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, 2016, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 978-0-316-31774-0,books.google.com/books?id=g5eTCwAAQBAJ,

{{The Rolling Stones singles}}{{Let It Bleed}}{{authority control}}