(REVISED) The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones hit #1 on the US charts on June 19th, 1965 with their song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", and half a century later the band is still touring. The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1989, and, in total, have released twenty-nine studio albums as well as eighteen live albums. When The Rolling Stones first began their epic career as a band in the sixties, rock and roll was still in its earlier stages. Keith Richards, the band's lead guitarist, described the time as "bloody boring, and something had to happen. Rock & roll happened, basically. And then lots of people were trying on different things, getting very, very stoned, 'exploring their boundaries.' I know I did.” The sixties were, as Richards said, a time of wide experimentation. “Hippie culture” was prevalent, with a strong "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll" vibe throughout the whole decade, epitomized by the Summer of Love in 1967. Drug use and music went hand-in-hand at this time, as a fundamental element of hippie culture was the practice of exploring one’s existence through the use of mind–altering drugs. Most popular artists were singing about their experiences expanding their mind with drugs such as LSD, heroin, mushrooms, cocaine, and marijuana. As Richards said, the band "[explored] their boundaries" quite a lot, and was well-known for doing such. Throughout their career, the members experimented with, and wrote about, many of these popular drugs. Like many other musicians of the time, they wrote about their experiences with drugs. But, unlike some artists who sang of enlightening, colorful drug experiences (like The Beatles), the Rolling Stones' music tended to be more of the dark and gloomy side of drug use; much of their music actually being about drug abuse. The band had a complicated relationship with drug use, as seen in both their music and their personal life.

The Rolling Stones’ experience with drugs is widely evident throughout their lyrics and throughout their career. The frequency with which drugs are mentioned in their lyrics reflects the fact that band members struggled heavily with drug addiction. But, even many of the songs that did not explicitly mention drugs had a more melancholy, disconsolate sound to them. This is due to the mental effects long term heroin use has on addicts. Studies show that mental health problems caused by heroin abuse include perpetual frustration and a loss of any motivation or positivity. This explains why much of the Rolling Stones' music had dark, depressive undertones.   

The Rolling Stones' career began with their debut album in 1964, The Rolling Stones. The album consisted of mostly covers of blues songs, but also included a few original pieces. It wasn't until their sixth album, Aftermath, that the Rolling Stones began releasing all original songs. A notable piece devoted to the role of drugs in daily life is the song is called "Mother's Little Helper". "Mother's Little Helper" is an upbeat, somewhat disturbing tune about prescription pill abuse, specifically with the drug diazepam (Valium). Diazepam was a tranquilizer popular with housewives in the sixties, as said in the song, "Mother needs something today to calm her down/ And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill". This song was the first of many Rolling Stones songs about drug abuse. Mick Jagger sings, "'Life's just too hard today' I hear every mother say/ the pursuit of happiness just seems a bore/ and if you take more of those/ you will get an overdose". These lyrics demonstrate the Rolling Stones pointing out the more depressing, dark side of drug use, instead of the happy highs other artists sang about.

Another controversial drug-related song is "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" from the 1967 album Between The Buttons. Around the time of the album's release, the band was featured in a newspaper feature about pop-stars who use recreational drugs. They were accused of attending "LSD parties" with other popular artist of the time. Because of the article, authorities began to take an interest in the band, and by May of 1967, three of the five band members were facing drug charges. "Something Happened To Me Yesterday," is, in fact, written about an LSD trip. In the song, Jagger sings, "It's really rather drippy but something, oh, so trippy/ Something happened to me yesterday." The song refers to the drug trip as "loony" and "something, I can't speak of right away," giving a negative, traumatizing undertone to the trip. This depiction of an SLD trip contrasts the happy, fun way that many of bands of the time described this experience.

While drugs did fuel a lot of the band's music, it also caused many problems within the personal life of the band. The members of the band faced multiple drug charges, which at times made touring in different countries difficult. Late in 1969, the year "Something Happened to Me Yesterday"was released, drug abuse resulted in a catastrophic event for the Rolling Stones. Original band member Brian Jones was unable to tour overseas with the band due to a drug charge against him. The band replaced him, just for the tour, but one month later he was found dead in his pool. Tests showed that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he drowned.

One gruesome, morbid drug-related Rolling Stones song is "Let It Bleed". The song includes such lines as "we all need someone we can bleed on," while also referencing cocaine as something to do when you're down. Jagger sings, "there will always be a space in my parking lot/When you need a little coke and sympathy," as usual, grouping drugs with unhappiness. The song "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" also references cocaine, with lyrics about someone with "cocaine eyes,” showing the physical effects of drug use. The use of heroin is introduced in one of the Stones’ most popular songs "Dead Flowers". Jagger sings "take me down little Susie, take me down". "Little Susie" is a reference to a type of heroin that was popular at the time of the album’s release. From the lyrics in this song, "I'll be in my basement with a needle and spoon", it was speculated that this was the type the band used. The mention of the basement is something that should not go unnoticed. The basement of a house is the most dark, hidden area, connoting the even more grim reality of doing heroin. Similarly, the song "Sister Morphine” is about a man in a hospital bed wishing desperately for the addictive pain drug morphine. The fact that it is referenced as "sister morphine" shows the dependence on the drug and how dearly it is considered.

The Stones' album Exile On Main Street includes many more songs in which Jagger sings about the effects of using heroin. But, these songs' lyrics also show some of the emotional effects heroin has had on the band. The heavily melancholy feeling which can be one of the side effects of long- term heroin abuse is reflected i n the track “Sweet Virginia,” where Jagger sings that when things are going badly, you “got to scrape the shit right off you shoes. This shows that he considers heroin something to use to pick him up when he is down. He seems not seem to realize that ultimately, medically, heroin is really only going to make things worse. It seems, in the lyrics of this album, that Mick Jagger definitely feels the mental effects of taking heroin, but may not realize the full cause and effect relationship with his health. In the song "Rocks Off", Jagger sings "plug in, flush out and fire the fucking feed”, which means to inject heroin. He also sings, "I can’t even feel the pain no more” and “the sunshine bores the daylights out of me”.

The effects of drug addiction are evident even in Rolling Stones songs which are not overtly dedicated to drug use For example, in the song "Paint It Black,” written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Jagger sings, "I look inside myself and see my heart is black". He sings of how he sees colors and happiness and light around him, and all he wants to do is make it darker. For example, he says, "I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky/ I want it painted, painted, painted, painted black". The song shows the constant aggravation and annoyance Jagger and Richards feel in everyday life, presumably due to the impact of drugs over many years .

The band went on to produce a total of twenty-nine studio albums and eighteen live albums. They had many public and private issues with drug use, frequently having to cancel shows due to an inability to get visas because of past drug convictions. The two band members most known for their drug use, Richards and Jagger, eventually stopped using. Richards became clean from heroin in 1980 and cocaine a few years following, and Jagger quit in 1977, inspired by his love interest, Jerry Hall. The Rolling Stones continued to make music for years after, and perform to his day, as they completed their 2015 tour just a few months ago. The fact that the Stones have survived and thrived despite many years of drug addiction and abuse is a testimony to the strength and endurance of their music and themselves.

The Beatles (White Album)

The Beatles' ninth studio album, The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album) was released November 22, 1968, during a time in America of experimentation and rebellion.  Many people, particularly the youth, participated in protests regarding a variety of different social issues including the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, and the anti-war movement.  Many of these protestors were known as hippies, meaning they valued peace and love and celebrated individuality and acceptance.  That was part of what made this album so successful: it was out-of-the-box and unique.  The eclectic collection of songs on The Beatles comments on many of the 60's rebellions, as well as a wide variety of other popular subjects of the 60's culture including a good amount of connections to the popular hippie culture.  

The Beatles were known for their love of experimenting, not only with drugs but also with their musical decisions.  This is part of what made the band so popular in a time period with a culture so revolved around experimenting and change.  "Yer Blues" was Lennon's attempt at a blues song and the track "Rocky Raccoon" was McCartney's imitation of a folk song.  To reach the folk sound he was going for, McCartney began the song by talking blues, and instrumentally included a harmonica and an acoustic guitar.  These two tracks show that the band was unafraid to play around with different sounds and genres.  Similarly, the band created the song "Helter Skelter" because they wanted to experiment with making the loudest sounds possible.  With the use of loud drumming, electric and bass guitars, they created one of the first influential songs of heavy metal culture.  "Wild Honey Pie", one of the most unique experimental songs on the album, incorporates vibrato on guitar strings to make a harsh background noise behind the words "honey pie" sung over and over.  The other most unique song on the album, "Revolution 9" is a collage of countless different sounds.  These sounds include musical performances, different clips of speech, and other sound effects, all mashed up and manipulated.  Although the experimentation of The Beatles' music on this album had some not-so-great-sounding outcomes, their attempts to experiment and make out-of-the-box sound was accepted within culture of the time period. 

Many of the tracks on The Beatles address different aspects of 60's culture as well.  But, there's something special about this album that made it able to stay relevant all of these years- and that is that many of the songs talk about topics and issues that are still prevalent over 40 years later.  One huge part of the 60's culture seen on this album is love.  This is partly due to the increasing popularity of hippie culture throughout the decade and the Summer of Love that occurred in 1967.  The Beatles contains many songs about love, similar to the Beatles albums that came before it.  Much of these love songs are of varying genres.  For example, "Martha My Dear", written about McCartney's dog Martha, is of the music hall genre and includes a piano as well as both a brass and string section.  There's also "Why Don't We Do it On the Road", a twelve-bar blues song in which McCartney sings about having sex in the middle of the road like monkeys he observed in India.  Then there's "Back in the USSR", an exciting rock song in which McCartney sings about his love for Ukrainian, Russian, and Georgian girls.  "Why Don't We Do it On the Road" and "Back in the USSR" are two songs that brought up controversy in the 60's.  (birth control and gay marriage now with cultural love values)

The Beatles also includes songs that address the many movements of the 60's.  During this time, many young people were protesting a wide variety of issues including the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, and the anti-Vietnam War movement.  Protesting and rebelling was a big part of the culture of the time.  Protests often turned into acts of violence, which led to the creation of the song "Revolution".  "Revolution" is directed towards the anti-Vietnam War protesters in the United States.  Lennon discusses the hypocrisy of these anti-war activists by arguing that protesting and being driven to change the world is not wrong, "but when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out", meaning if protesting leads to even more violence, then that's when a line should be drawn.  Many people of this time became so fed up with the United States government that they began to follow Chairman Mao and his ideas of communism. Lennon argues that anyone who claims to be fighting for peace and freedom but also admires chairman Mao is a hypocrite, because Mao is a totalitarian leader who uses murder and oppression on his people.  Lennon sings, "if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao, you ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow."  Many people of this time, roughly one-third of the country, were strongly opposed to the war.  Often times this was because they felt that the US had no cause being involved in t
The band also brings up the topic of the civil rights movement, as the album release was only months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior.  McCartney wrote "Blackbird" about the black woman in America struggling to face oppression.  The song is about keeping the faith and persevering, because the time will come when there is freedom for all.  He sings, "take these broken wings and learn to fly" and "all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free." 

Going back to "Helter Skelter", the song actually had a huge, unique influence on culture in the later 1960's, when a man named Charles Manson took the song, and many other songs on The Beatles, to be a confirmation of the coming of an apocalyptic race war he called Helter Skelter.  Manson and his followers committed eleven murders in order to initiate this race war.  Manson left the wallet of one of the victims in the street, hoping an African-American would find it, attempt to use it, and get pinned for the murders.  He believed that the African-Americans would win the race war, and then need his help due to an inability to run the planet.  Manson and his followers were put in jail for their crimes, no race war ever took place, and the song "Helter Skelter" was never listened to in the same way.

Yet another social issue addressed on the album is the disputes between the separate economic classes. In the track "Piggies", Harrison complains of the financial greediness of the upper class, something that many people in the lower economic classes were upset about.  He compares the "little piggies crawling in the dirt" whose "life is getting worse", to the "bigger piggies in their starched white shirts" that "don't care what goes on around".  Harrison even says that the bigger piggies are "clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon", a metaphor showing that he is saying the upper class shamelessly feeds on the lower class.

A big part of 60's culture was the increasing popularity of hippie culture.  Eastern influences were often seen in hippie music and in people's beliefs.  Much of The Beatles was actually written in Rishikesh, India at a transcendental meditation course.  One of the main beliefs was that everything happens for a reason and there is no chance.  This is Harrison's reasoning behind my favorite track on the album, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".  Harrison decided to pick up a book at random and write about the first words he saw.  He landed on "gently weeps", and wrote this slow, brooding rock song.   Optimism and positivity were other important values of people that were part of the of hippie culture.  This is the idea behind "Ob-la-di ob-la-da".  The song title is actually a phrase taken from one of McCartney's friends,  Jimmy Scott-Emuakpor, a Nigerian conga player.  It is said to mean "life goes on".  The phrase adds a fun, happy chorus to the already up-beat song.

The use of psychedelic drugs was another big aspect of hippie culture and general 60's culture as well.  Although it was typical for The Beatles' music to reference use of LSD and cannabis, this album also contained mentions of heroin use. The first verse in the track "Happiness is a Warm Gun" is a series of ridiculous images, said to be from an acid trip of Lennon's.  It is also includes the line, "I need a fix 'cause I'm going down", which is a reference to Lennon's addiction to Heroin.  Similarly, in "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey", he sings "the deeper you go the higher you fly".  Referencing psychedelic drugs was not something unique to The Beatles in this era; in fact most popular artists in the 60's wrote about drugs, including Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and Jefferson Airplane. 

The many different references to popular social topics and aspects of 60's culture in The Beatles can cause the album to feel, as a whole, a little all over the place and at times random, especially with all of the sonically experimental tracks on the album.  But, experimenting was part of 60's culture as well as acceptance of what is different; and even though most of these tracks are about life in the 60's, they have lived on to still be beloved over 40 years later.