This week we’re focusing on music featured in the 1983 movie, The Big Chill. That film did a lot for reviving some of the best music of the 1960s and early 1970s, including today’s classic song of the day, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones.
The Stones originally released “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in July of 1969 as the five-minute B-side of the “Honky Tonk Women” single. It next appeared as a longer, seven-minute-plus version, complete with choir intro, on the Let It Bleed album, released in December of that year. It finally saw release as its own A-side in 1973, where it peaked at just #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 the Cash Box Top 100. In spite of that poor performance, the track became a staple of FM radio and remains a classic rock favorite today.
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Here’s what Mick remembers about the tune:
“‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ was something I just played on the acoustic guitar—one of those bedroom songs. It proved to be quite difficult to record because Charlie couldn’t play the groove and so Jimmy Miller had to play the drums. I’d also had this idea of having a choir, probably a gospel choir, on the track, but there wasn’t one around at that point. Jack Nitzsche, or somebody, said that we could get the London Bach Choir and we said, ‘That will be a laugh.'”
The musicians on the recording included the London Bach Choir, along with Stones Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), and Bill Wyman (bass). As Mick related, drummer Charlie Watts had a little trouble nailing this one, so producer Jimmy Miller stepped into to play drums in his stead. Al Kooper played piano, organ, and French horn, while Rocky Dijon played congas and other percussion. Background vocals were by Doris Troy, Madeline Bell, and Nanette Workman.
The Big Chill featured “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the end of the funeral scene at the beginning of the film. It starts out being played on the church organ by the Karen Bowers character, played by JoBeth Williams. That fades into the full Rolling Stones version, complete with children’s choir, as the characters move from the church to the cemetery. It helped set the mood of the entire film, of friends who had to abandon their youthful goals and dreams to forge their new lives as somewhat-responsible adults.
We’ll talk more about The Big Chill and its music later this week. For now, here’s your daily bonus video of the day, the church-to-cemetery scene in The Big Chill, with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” playing on the soundtrack. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.
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