The partnership between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards is a storied one. It began in the early 1960s with The Rolling Stones and songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and has continued through today with their famed rock group still touring.
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While over the decades the two have sometimes been at odds over who deserves the limelight, their chemistry together remains the stuff of legend. So much so that the two have written songs not only for themselves and their band but for others, too.
Want proof? Just check out the tracks below. These are three songs you didn’t know Keith Richards and Mick Jagger wrote together.
1. “Silver Train,” Johnny Winter
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
While this song was released in 1973 on The Rolling Stones’ LP, Goats Head Soup, it was first arranged and worked on as a demo for the band’s 1970 album, Sticky Fingers. It was at that time that artist Johnny Winter heard the track and covered it for himself and for his album, Still Alive and Well, which dropped in 1973 a few months ahead of Goats Head Soup. So, yes, Winter got there first. The lyrics of the song deal with a sordid relationship between the singer and a prostitute.
And I did not know her name
And I did not know her name
But I sure love the way that she laughed and took my money
And I did not know her name
And I did not know her name
But I sure loved the way that she laughed and called me Honey
Silver rain is a fallin’
Fallin’ up around my house, oh, yeah
Silver belles is a ringin’
Ringin’ all around my house, ding, dong, oh, yeah
2. “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday,” Gene Pitney
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
“That Girl Belongs to Yesterday” was released by Gene Pitney in November of 1963. Prior, Pitney had been present during some recording sessions with Phil Spector and the Rolling Stones in London. For those sessions, Pitney played a little piano—though how much of it landed on tracks is up for dispute. Nevertheless, “That Girl Belongs to Yesterday” hit No. 7 in the U.K. for Pitney in 1964, making it the first song written by Jagger and Richards to hit the Top 10 in their home country. It also hit No. 49 in the U.S.
Last night I needed you so bad
I was alone and feeling sad
But now that I recall
You left me after all
The only girl I’ve ever had
I never ever made you cry
No, no I didn’t even try
You promised you’d be true
You said you loved me too
3. “(Walkin’ Thru the) Sleepy City,” The Mighty Avengers
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Along with “(Walkin’ Thru the) Sleepy City,” Jagger and Richards also wrote the track “So Much In Love” for the Mighty Avengers (not to be confused with the Hulk and Captain America comic book). “(Walkin’ Thru the) Sleppy City” was released in the summer of 1965 in July. At the time, the Mighty Avengers’ manager, Danny Betesh, negotiated a recording deal with Andrew Loog Oldham, who was then managing the ‘Stones. So, Jagger and Richards wrote a couple of songs for the band, including its only hit, “So Much In Love.” The Mighty Avengers split up in the mid-1960s and several members formed another band later called Jigsaw in the ’70s. The ‘Stones later recorded “(Walkin’ Thru the) Sleepy City” in 1975.
Walkin’ the sleepy city
In the dark it looks so pretty
Till I got to the one cafe
That stays open night and day
Just a lookin’ at the sleepy city
In the night it looks so pretty
No one sees the city lights
they just care about the warmth inside
Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images
