You can't rush perfection, just ask Keith Richards!
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During a recent interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the Rolling Stones star admitted that his upcoming song, "Some Of Us," took years to go from idea to finished product.
"That song had been hanging around in the head for years and years. I never quite got around to putting the finger on it," Richards, 82, said. "Some songs are very elusive."
However, Richards then admitted that his 1981 track "Start Me Up" also took a while.
"I remember 'Start Me Up' was 10 years from the writing of it to when it came out," he said. "It's like wine, good wine, some of it's better aged. I remember the first hundred takes were reggae rhythm. It went through a lot of styles before we said, 'Hey, why don't we just play rock and roll?'"
Yes, you read that right, 10 whole years.
"That's the one that made it," Richards recalled.
Maybe that's why Richards has always found such a high level of success, you know, because he's willing to hold onto to something until he's got it just how he wants it. Who knows? Yet, from where we're sitting, a decade sounds like an awfully long time.
Keith Richards Isn't the Only One Who Likes "Start Me Up"
When speaking with Willie Geist on TODAY, Mick Jagger was asked about his favorite Rolling Stones song. Interestingly, he noted that he holds "Start Me Up" in high regard.
"I mean, there are so many different styles," Jagger said. "I mean, you're running the gamut of 'Sympathy for the Devil.' You know, 'Start Me Up,' 'Angie,' 'Honky Tonk Women.'"
Surely, if both Jagger and Richards are fond of that track, it deserves more love from the fanbase. Anything that takes 10 years from start to finish is something to be cherished.
Nevertheless, the Rolling Stones have little time for sentiment right now. Their new album, "Foreign Tongues," is scheduled for release on July 10. Once that hits streaming platforms, we're going to have another handful of songs to enjoy. Maybe one of those will end up being among Jagger's favorites, too.
