Why Mick Jagger’s First US Top 40 Hit Would Never Have Cut It With The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger built his reputation as the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. But Jagger’s restlessness within the band has always reared its head from time to time. A solo career was always inevitable.

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Even so, when he did make the jump, he caused great consternation within The Stones camp. And his first big hit single was one that might not have passed muster had he tried to bring it to his day-job band.

Stones Struggles

You might think that Mick Jagger’s solo career began with the 1985 album She’s The Boss. In reality, he enjoyed a slight British hit in 1970 with the song “Memo From Turner”. He performed the song for his role in the film Performance. It perpetrates a definite Stones’ vibe, but it didn’t hit the US Top 40.

Fast-forward to the 80s. It was a time when the relationship between Jagger and Keith Richards, his chief cohort in creating The Stones’ music, was staggering. Personal animosity had built up between the two men. They also constantly clashed over how the Stones should sound in that era.

Richards believed that they shouldn’t deviate that much from their traditional, blues-based approach. Jagger believed that their relevance depended on keeping up with the current sounds of the day, specifically more danceable material. When presented with the opportunity for a solo record deal, Jagger didn’t hesitate.

Mick’s Solo Move

Mick Jagger’s decision to record She’s The Boss only drove the wedge further between the two men. But Jagger dove headlong into the new project anyway. Not surprisingly, he leaned into a more groove-oriented sound, albeit one that was abetted occasionally by some rock royalty.

For the lead single, “Just Another Night”, Jagger employed the ace rhythm section of bassist Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Sly Dunbar, a duo known for giving a head-bobbing swing to many 80s records. On lead guitar, however, Jagger called on none other than fellow British rock legend Jeff Beck to offer some potent licks.

Whether asking Beck was a kind of message sent to Richards is hard to say. What’s clear is that “Just Another Night” delivered just what Jagger wanted. The song, accompanied by a stylish video that resembled some of Duran Duran’s wild clips, worked its way all the way to No. 12 on the US charts.

The Aftermath

In terms of its commercial clout, She’s The Boss, released in 1985 and propelled by the success of “Just Another Night”, sold well. Critics didn’t take much of a shine to it, but that wasn’t unexpected. After all, many of them were also upset that Mick Jagger wasn’t recording with The Stones at that time.

Jagger received a boost later in the year when his Live Aid-inspired duet with David Bowie on the 60s chestnut “Dancing In The Streets” also hit it big. It’s no surprise, then, that his heart didn’t seem to be in it when he returned to make the 1986 Rolling Stones’ album Dirty Work, generally considered to be among the weakest LPs in the band’s history.

Jagger and Richards then went their separate ways again with solo albums. Luckily, the frosty relationship between the two men thawed by the time The Stones made the excellent comeback record Steel Wheels in 1989. Luckily, “Just Another Night” turned out to be just a fine Jagger solo effort, rather than the catalyst for toppling an all-time rock band.

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