The Story Behind Mick Jagger’s Signature Dance Moves: “It Was Just the Natural Thing”

Mick Jagger is one of the most legendary frontmen in rock and roll for a lot of reasons. He is talented, first of all. But in his prime, he was also progressive, innovative, and stepped on the toes of social rules across the world. In other words, Mick Jagger was unapologetically himself, and one iconic way he often expressed himself was through dance.

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Jagger’s dance moves are arguably the most notable feature of his on-stage presence. Not only were they weirdly entertaining, but they were also taboo, visceral, and to some, sexually explicit. However, it seems Mick Jagger didn’t intend for them to be this way. Rather, when the music started playing, he started dancing. So, in a way, Mick Jagger was a prisoner of the groove, and that is why he had to dance while on stage.

It Was Never Even a Question for Mick Jagger

Not many frontmen in Mick Jagger’s era danced while on stage. They either just didn’t want to, or they were playing an instrument that prohibited them from doing so. Well, that was evidently not the case for Mick Jagger, as the friction in his feet set the stage on fire every time he was on it. Regarding his motivation to dance, Jagger told Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show that “it wasn’t a question of making a decision to dance.”

“I just couldn’t have this music going on and not move around,” he added. “Even in these tiny little spaces we had in the early days, it was just the natural thing to do.”

Jagger was not the first musician to create such an on-stage presence, and he acknowledged that. Jagger told Stern that his major dance influences included Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, James Brown, and Little Richard.

“I used to look at all of these James Brown clips and go and see him, and Chuck Berry,” Jagger continued. “All of these people that I adored, like Jerry Lee Lewis, had great moves.”

Thanks to these influences, Mick Jagger believes that dancing is just an innate part of being a lead singer. After all, lead singers are the main focus, the maestro of the audience, and the very person who controls the energy of the room. Jagger attested to this notion, as he simply told Howard Stern, “This is part of what it is to be a lead singer.”

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