Star Star
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| "Star Star" | |
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"Star Star" is a song by The Rolling Stones that appeared on their 1973 album Goats Head Soup. One of the raunchiest songs in the band's catalogue, the song was originally titled "Starfucker" until Atlantic Records guru Ahmet Ertegün (Atlantic was the distributor of Rolling Stones Records) insisted on the change. The song gained notoriety not only for explicit lyrics alluding to sex acts involving fruit (among other things) but also for controversial mentions of such celebrities as John Wayne and Steve McQueen. While discussing the song, the band members have always referred to the song by its original title. A live performance was captured and released on 1977's Love You Live.
The song
"Star Star" is a simple, Chuck Berry-style rocker that slowly increases in momentum as the song progresses. Opening with a biting Keith Richards lick, it continues in 4/4 time driven by Mick Taylor's crunching rhythm guitar, Charlie Watts' propulsive snare pattern, Keith Richards' Berry-esque rhythm-lead, Ian Stewart's piano, and Bill Wyman's bass line, which isn't introduced until the second verse, adding to the song's snowballing effect. The centerpiece of the song, however, is Mick Jagger's vocals. At first calm and conversational, his voice grows increasingly petulant, spitting the lyrics in a leather-throated howl by song's end.
Controversial lyrics
As the 1970s approached their midpoint, the Stones' image became increasingly decadent, bolstered by tales of backstage debauchery (as evidenced by Robert Frank's storied documentary Cocksucker Blues). "Star Star" is the best representation of this image to be found in the band's music, as evidenced by the lyrics, which exasperated Ertegün and wouldn't be matched in sleaze again by the Stones until the release of the misogynistic "Some Girls" in 1978. The more controversial lyrics include:
-"I know you're movin' out to Hollywood with your can of tasty foam" (Referencing to a can filled with semen)
-"Lead guitars and movie stars get their tongue beneath your hood"
-"Your tricks with fruit was kinda cute/I bet you keep your pussy clean" (This line was overdubbed on the U.S version of the album)
-"Ali McGraw got mad with you/For giving head to Steve McQueen" (The band obtained a statement from McQueen agreeing not to sue upon the album's release to ease Ertegün's worries)
-"I'm making bets that you don't get John Wayne before he dies" (This John Wayne reference was also edited on some versions of the album, with "John Wayne" being replaced by "your man." On their tours in 1975 and 1976, this line was changed out of respect for John Wayne's failing health.)
On the 1977 live album Love You Live, Jagger substitutes the aforementioned lyrics regarding John Wayne with a jab at Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page: "Jimmy Page was quite a rage, I cannot see the reason why".
Cover versions
In 1978, the Swedish artist Magnus Uggla did a punk rock cover of the song with lyrics in Swedish called Stjärnluder ("Star Whore") on his album Vittring.
Joan Jett included a completely uncensored version as an unlisted hidden track on the cassette version of her 1983 album Album which resulted in a ban on all of her albums by WalMart.
The 1978 Cheech & Chong comedy film Up In Smoke features a cover version of the song during the Strawberry scene. However, the record skips and repeats the line "Star Fucker, Star" ad infinitum.