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Rolling Stones songs: Black Limousine
We used to shine, shine, shine, shine/ Say what a pair, say what a team…
Working title: Broken Head Blues Written by: Jagger/Richards/Wood Recorded: Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Nov. 13-24 1973; EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Jan. 5-March 2 1978 and June 10-Oct. 19 1979 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals, harmonica Keith Richards: rhythm guitar Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Ron Wood: lead guitar Guest musicians: Ian Stewart (piano)
Black Limousinecaptures the Rolling Stones at their rawest, blending gritty blues with tales of faded glamour and reckless nights. From glamorous girls and glittering limousines to endless drinks, Mick Jagger’s vocals reflect nostalgia, regret, and a fleeting sense of untouchable youth. Fans hear more than a song—they hear a time capsule of the Stones’ decadent past.
Ronnie Wood’s slide-guitar riff, inspired by Chicago blues greats like Hop Wilson and Johnny ‘Big Moose’ Walker, fuels the track’s restless energy. Originally titledBroken Head Blues, the riff became the backbone of a song that combines swagger, rhythm, and raw emotion. Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and Ian Stewart complete the sonic blueprint, crafting a tight, smoky, and unapologetically bluesy sound.
Though Jagger admitted he didn’t favor the song, Black Limousine proved its staying power on the 1981–82 tours and beyond. A testament to the Stones’ blues roots and chemistry, the track remains a fan favorite and a timeless piece of rock history
More about Black Limousine by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Fading Glamour and Vanishing Dreams
The wild swirl of nightlife, luxury, and youthful recklessness hovers over Black Limousine like a fading photograph—one soaked in the excesses that once defined what it meant to live as a Rolling Stone. In this retelling of past decadence, Mick Jagger sings as though waking from a dream that dissolved the moment he opened his eyes. The imagery of glamorous girls, glittering limousines, and endless drinks captures a lifestyle that felt both untouchable and temporary, a kind of fever dream that now exists only in memories and newspaper exaggerations. But beneath this glamorous surface lies a quiet ache: the sense that time has chipped away at those nights, leaving behind something more reflective than triumphant. Jagger’s delivery hints at the melancholy of someone looking back at a version of himself that no longer exists, wrapping nostalgia and regret into the bluesy heart of the song. The track is a hard blues number, described by Jagger as a “fast mid-tempo blues of no specific nature,” and hearkens heavily back to the Stones’ earliest ABCKO/London recordings.
Ronnie’s Riff and the Blues That Sparked It
Long before the song became a Tattoo You staple, Ron Wood stumbled upon a slide-guitar riff that lit the fuse. It came from a 45 rpm given to him by Eric Clapton, featuring players he barely knew—Hop Wilson, maybe Johnny ‘Big Moose’ Walker—musicians rooted in deep Chicago blues traditions. That spark became the backbone of Black Limousine (originally Broken Head Blues), a track steeped in swaggering rhythms and gritty emotion. Ronnie claimed the riff with pride, insisting on a songwriting credit he felt he earned note by note. When he doubles down on the idea—“I wrote that!”—it reveals how personal the piece was to him. The Stones transformed that idea into something unmistakably theirs: blues that growls rather than mourns, a riff that feels both classic and restless, and a melody that channels the band’s earliest musical DNA without sounding trapped in the past.
Ronnie Wood (2003): “Black Limousine came about from a slide guitar riff that was inspired in part by some Hop Wilson licks from a record that I once owned, mislaid for years, found again and finally lost again… And there was another guy called Big Moose, who I’ve never heard of before or since… He was an old slide guitar guy who had one particular lick that he would bring in every now and again. I thought, That’s really good, I’m going to apply that – and so subconsciously I wrote the whole song around that one little lick, building on it, resolving it and taking it round again… That was something that clicked musically straight away with the guitars and drums and Mick, and then we immediately got into sparring about the lyrics for it, since it was obviously crying out for some words. Once again the riff was taken care of and I let Mick do the words… Mick’s got his own style and that’s why I let him interpret it in his own way. It’s only fair really. But I let that song slip through my fingers. I fought until I was blue in the face to get the credit, going on and on: I wrote that, I wrote that. One of the lessons I had to learn was that if you want to get a credit, it has to happen there and then in the studio, as you’re recording it”
A Studio Battle, A Harmonica Cry, And A Tight Rhythm Core
When recording resumed during the Tattoo You sessions, the song began to evolve into the sharp, swaggering track fans know today. Jagger recorded both lead and backing vocals alone in a cavernous Paris warehouse, pouring rawness into every line. His harmonica intertwines with Wood’s riff like a challenge and a tribute at once. Meanwhile, Keith Richards anchors everything with a rugged rhythm guitar that glues the song together. Charlie Watts, opting for brushes instead of sticks, adds a smoky, late-night texture, while Bill Wyman crafts a bass line that slinks and pulses with quiet authority. Ian Stewart’s boogie-style piano—barely audible but unmistakably essential—completes the architecture. The musical chemistry feels spontaneous yet deliberate, as if the band were rediscovering the joy of creating something gritty, fast, and unapologetically bluesy.
Legacy, Influence and A Song That Refused to Fade
Though Jagger himself claimed he never cared much for Black Limousine, the fans thought otherwise. The song surged in popularity through the 1981–82 tours and resurfaced again in 1995, proving its staying power. It appears throughout Stones history—live recordings, film footage, B-sides—each version adding another layer to its legend. The track stands as a tribute to the band’s blues roots, to Ronnie Wood’s persistence, and to the chemistry that made even their overlooked songs burn bright. Black Limousine isn’t just nostalgia; it’s a reminder of where the band came from and how their past continually reshapes their future.
Mick Jagger (1981): “That’s the most played track after Start Me Up. Can you imagine that? A straight blues… Black Limousine is just a fast mid-tempo blues of no specific nature. I don’t think it’s particularly wonderful. I almost left it off the album. I just managed to get room for it in the last minute”
Keith Richards (1981): “That song does have a more generous view of relationships with women. Yeah, because time marches on, etc. And also, I guess, because the women in our lives at the moment have made a change in our attitudes toward it. I guess because everything that comes out from the Stones is just as it comes out. I mean, you just turn on the tap and it pours out. That’s how we used to feel about it, and that’s how we feel about it now. This is purely a guess, because I haven’t really thought about it, but it seems logical that the people you’re with are the ones who are gonna influence you most, wether you intend it or not. Mick might intend to sit down and write a real Stones song – you know: ‘Blechhh! You cruddy piece of shit, you dirty old scrub box!’ But obviously, that’s not the way he’s feeling now. It’s not the way I’m feeling now.”
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