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The Rolling Stones left plenty of unfinished business behind, but Come On Sugar is particularly intriguing because it captures the band experimenting at a fascinating crossroads. Recorded during the 1975 sessions that eventually fed into Black and Blue, the track was never completed or officially released, leaving it as one of those tantalizing pieces of Stones history that fans have had to chase through bootlegs. The song, also known as Let’s Do It Right leans heavily into funk, showing the band exploring a groove that could have developed into something very different. And with Jeff Beck contributing guitar during this period, the track has an extra layer of studio intrigue.
Also known as: Let’s Do It Right Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Rolling Stones Mobile, Eduard Flipse Zaal, De Doelen, Rotterdam, Holland, Jan. 22-Feb. 9 1975 ; Musicland Studios, Munich, West Germany, March 19-Apr. 5 1975 (Black and Blue sessions) Guest musicians: Jeff Beck (guitar)
From Martin Elliott’s book The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012: A more intense funk number which was unfinished lyrically. However, it provided Jeff Beck with the opportunity to groove again on the funk express.
A Strange Moment in the Stones’ Story
The Rolling Stones were hardly sitting around in 1975 wondering what to do next. With Mick Taylor gone, the band was suddenly facing one of its most unusual transitions, and the sessions that became Black and Blueturned into something of a musical audition room. Among the guitarists passing through was Jeff Beck, whose presence added another intriguing ingredient to the Stones’ already restless sound. One of the tracks to emerge from this period was Come On Sugar, an unreleased number that captures the band stretching beyond its familiar rock formula. Blending rock and funk, the song has the loose, experimental character of musicians testing possibilities rather than following a carefully marked route. It never made the official album, naturally—because apparently the Stones had no shortage of material worth leaving fans wondering what might have been.
Jeff Beck Joins the Experiment
The Black and Blue sessions were unlike a typical Rolling Stones recording project. Mick Taylor had departed in late 1974, leaving the band searching for his replacement, and several guitarists were invited to work with them.
Jeff Beck was among the most notable musicians to enter the studio during this period. Already an established guitar innovator, Beck brought a distinctive approach that contrasted with the Stones’ more familiar guitar interplay. His presence on Come On Sugar gives the track an additional point of interest, particularly for fans fascinated by the musicians who briefly crossed paths with the band during this transitional chapter.
Rather than simply reproducing the Stones’ established sound, these sessions allowed the musicians to test different combinations and textures. Beck’s contribution became part of that broader experimentation.
A Funky Track Left Behind
Come On Sugar reveals a Rolling Stones willing to push into funk while retaining the raw energy of their rock background. The combination gives the recording a looser, more exploratory feel than some of the material that eventually appeared on Black and Blue.
The song was never officially released, but it has circulated among collectors and fans through bootlegs. That unofficial life has helped preserve interest in a track that otherwise might have disappeared completely.
There is also an amusing contrast between its obscurity and the album it came from. Black and Blue ultimately produced recognizable Stones songs such as Fool to Cry and Memory Motel, yet Come On Sugar remained outside the official story. Perhaps that is precisely what makes it interesting: it documents a band in transition, experimenting with new sounds while deciding who would help shape its next era.
For Stones fans, the track is less a forgotten masterpiece than a fascinating studio snapshot—a glimpse of what the band sounded like when the future was still very much undecided.
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