There are industry veterans, and then there is Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, whose decades-long tenure as a rockstar has given him an almost vampiric, been-around-since-the-dawn-of-time status. Sure, other musicians who cut their teeth alongside Jagger and his bandmates in the early 1960s and beyond are still kicking today.
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But the fact that Jagger and Keith Richards have stayed a dynamic rock ‘n’ roll duo since their early days in London makes them seem even older than contemporaries like, say, Paul McCartney and Donovan. Whether real or exaggerated, Jagger’s time in the industry has equipped him with beaucoup life lessons specific to being a rockstar.
Here are his top ten.
Mick Jagger’s Hilarious List Of Rockstar Life Lessons
During a 2012 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Mick Jagger listed his top ten life lessons about being a rockstar while promoting the Rolling Stones’ star-studded pay-per-view concert featuring Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, the Black Keys, and John Mayer, among others. As one might expect from a perpetually devilish frontman, Jagger’s life lessons were hilariously tongue-in-cheek and mischievous.
Bringing up the rear at No. 10 was a lesson industry vets know all too well: “Nobody wants to hear anything from your new album.” (Who goes to a Stones concert and doesn’t expect to hear the hits?) Jagger’s next piece of advice was a bit more morbid: “Never take relationship advice from Phil Spector.” Spector, of course, was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting and killing his girlfriend, Lana Clarkson. So, that’s certainly a fair bit of advice. Jagger then moved on to an important crowd work technique: “Before shouting, ‘Hi, Seattle,’ make sure you’re in Seattle.’”
The Rolling Stones frontman continued his list with a subtle jab at Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera’s 2010 pop hit, “Moves Like Jagger.” With a sly grin, Jagger listed his No. 7 life lesson: “You don’t earn a cent when someone does a song about having moves like Jagger.” He rounded out the bottom half of his list with, “Everybody you meet after you’ve become famous is only interested in you as a person.”
From Financial Advice To Lyrical Puns
Mick Jagger’s cheeky humor didn’t stop as he made his way further down his list of life lessons from being a rockstar, and No. 5 even caught the attention of show host David Letterman. “Song royalties are great,” Jagger recited into the camera. “But even they can’t match the guaranteed cash flow from a reverse mortgage,” prompting Letterman to remark, “You know, I never thought of that.” For life lesson No. 4, Jagger said, “A good way to keep yourself entertained is to sign every tenth autograph ‘Doris Goldblatt.’”
The third most important life lesson Jagger has learned over his decades-long career is the benefit of being a good neighbor. “Be considerate of other hotel guests,” the Stones singer said. “Trash your room by 10 pm.” Jagger saved a lyrical pun for the No. 2 slot, saying, “You can’t always get what you want, like a good joke on the top ten list.” And finally, Jagger ended his top ten list of most valuable rockstar life lessons with a bit of advice only someone his age could truly appreciate.
“You start out playing rock n’ roll so you can have sex and do drugs. But you end up doing drugs so you can still play rock ‘n’ roll and have sex.” Mick Jagger: collecting crucial life lessons so we don’t have to since ‘62.
Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
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