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Rolling Stones songs: Love Is Strong
A glimpse of you was all it took/ A stranger’s glance it got me hooked…
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: Ronnie Wood’s Sandymount Studios, Kildare, Ireland, July 9-Aug. 6 and Sept. 1993; Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland, Nov. 3-Dec. 10 1993 ; Don Was’ Studio and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, USA, Jan. 15-Apr. 1994 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals, harmonica, maracas Keith Richards: guitar, backing vocals Charlie Watts: drums Ron Wood: guitar Guest musicians: Darryl Jones (bass), Chuck Leavell (electric piano), Bernard Fowler and Ivan Neville (backing vocals)
Love Is Strong: The Rolling Stones’ Dark Spark Of Revival
The story of Love Is Strong begins not with a polished studio session, but with a loose, shadowy idea taking shape while Mick Jagger wasn’t even in the room. Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Ivan Neville, and Don Was started carving out the earliest version—then titled Love Is Strange—during a break when Jagger was promoting Wandering Spirit. What emerged was a hypnotic skeleton of a song, pulsing with desire and mystery. When Jagger returned, he reshaped it completely: new lyrics, new flow, and a sensual vocal approach created by singing through a harmonica mic and dropping his voice an octave. Suddenly the track wasn’t simply about lust at first sight—it hinted at fate, obsession, and the unshakable creative tension between the Glimmer Twins. By the time Voodoo Lounge arrived, Love Is Strong had become both a statement of continuity and a declaration of rebirth.
Origins and Reinvention
Although Richards first shaped the musical foundation after drawing from his solo trackWicked as It Seems, the song only gained its final identity once Jagger stepped in. The lyrics painted the narrator as a man bewitched by a single glimpse of an unknown woman—a spark powerful enough to pull him across bars, alleys, and even the stars. Some listeners read it as a metaphor, a coded wink toward the eternal creative bond between Jagger and Richards. What began in rural Ireland as an improvised jam evolved through countless takes and title changes until Love Is Strong finally solidified as the version the world came to know.
Sound, Craft, and A New Bass Era
The single also marked a historic turning point: it was the first Stones release without founding bassist Bill Wyman. His successor, Darryl Jones, brought a velvety groove shaped by years of working with Miles Davis and Sting. His Fender Precision bass blended subtlety with authority, leaving just enough space for Charlie Watts’ steady, elegant drumming. Jagger added maracas for extra texture, while Richards and Ronnie Wood intertwined electric and acoustic guitar parts, building a dark and seductive soundscape. Jagger’s harmonica—likely a Lee Oskar he had recently adopted—cut through the mix with a smoky, expressive tone rarely heard in the Stones’ mid-period work.
A Visual Masterstroke
The promo video directed by David Fincher elevated Love Is Strong into a cultural moment. Shot in stark black-and-white and crafted with cutting-edge compositing techniques at Digital Domain, it portrayed the Stones—towering giants—striding through Manhattan like stylish, calm versions of Godzilla. The illusion of scale was astonishing for 1994, a time when such effects often looked cartoonish. Editor Robert Duffy and FX supervisor Fred Raimondi created an uncanny sense of realism that set a new standard for rock videos. Its style proved irresistible: heavy MTV rotation, a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video, and Billboard’s Best Rock Clip of the Year cemented it as a defining visual of the era.
Release, Remixes and Legacy
Released on July 4, 1994, with The Storm as its B-side, Love Is Strong became the gateway into the Stones’ newly revitalized era. It reached number 14 in the U.K. and inspired an entire ecosystem of remixes—from Teddy Riley’s R&B-infused cuts to Bob Clearmountain’s rock-leaning take and Joe Nicolo’s club-friendly versions. As the lead single of Voodoo Lounge, it helped launch an album that would win the first Grammy ever awarded for Best Rock Album. More than a comeback, Love Is Strong stands as proof that the Stones could reinvent themselves without losing their core electricity.
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