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Mick Jagger

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Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (born 26 July, 1943) is an English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. He is most famous for being the lead singer and co-founder with guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards of the British rock and roll band The Rolling Stones. He, along with Richards, is the main songwriter for the band. The pair have composed almost four hundred songs in close to a half century of collaboration.

Contents

Early life

Jagger was born into a middle-class family in the English sense of the term. Thus he was from a relatively wealthy background; his father Joe and paternal grandfather were both teachers; his mother Eva, an Australian immigrant to England, was an active member of the Conservative Party. He was the older of two sons, and was raised to follow in his father's career path. Academically successful, Jagger attended Dartford Grammar School, before entering the London School of Economics on a scholarship. He attended for less than two years and did not graduate, dropping out to pursue his musical career. This decision was scorned by his father, and only reluctantly accepted by his mother. Jagger has stated in interviews he did not blame his parents for their mistrust of his choice; even he doubted a life-long career in music was possible.

As a student, Jagger frequented a London club called the Firehouse. At the age of 19, Jagger began performing as a singer. Like Richards and other members of the Rolling Stones, Jagger had no formal musical training and did not know how to read music. He frequented clubs such as the famous Marquee Club or The Ealing Club, and admired the same type of blues musicians that Brian Jones and Keith Richards favored. In fact, Elmore James was one of the band's early favorites, as well as anything from the Chess Records collection in Chicago.

While Jagger knew Keith Richards as a schoolmate, the songwriters reunited when Richards saw Jagger with a blues record under his arm, and asked him where he purchased it. The group, combined with Jones, Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart, and Charlie Watts formed the Rolling Stones, based on the Muddy Waters tune "Rollin' Stone." Stewart was dropped from the band for not fitting the image desired by manager Andrew Loog Oldham, but still toured with the band as a pianist until his death in 1985. It was Oldham who insisted that Jagger call himself "Mick" rather than "Mike", a name he continued to use among friends; for example, John Lennon calls him Mike in the 1968 film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.

The Rolling Stones

Jagger was not an immediate success as lead singer of The Rolling Stones. By his own admission, he was a stiff and awkward school boy in front of an audience, but in the same way the Stones learned how to play and write songs – through imitating other artists – Jagger developed a stage presence. When the Stones began to play live gigs throughout England with other artists, such as Ike and Tina Turner, Jagger learned from other singers how to work an audience and quickly developed his own unique style. As his songwriting and recording career emerged, Richards became his main collaborator, which cemented a close friendship. Brian Jones became more of an isolated figure in the band for he was unable to contribute to the songwriting process.

The London years

In 1967, Jagger and Richards were arrested and charged with drug possession after a highly publicised raid on Richards' country house, during which it was alleged that Marianne Faithfull was found naked except for a fur rug wrapped around her. The raid was later revealed to have been prompted by a tip-off to the London Drug Squad by journalists working for the News Of The World, which at the time was running a series of lurid reports about the alleged use of illegal drugs by British pop stars.

Mick (bottom left) in the early years of The Rolling Stones
Enlarge
Mick (bottom left) in the early years of The Rolling Stones

In one of these reports, Jagger was alleged to have spent an evening at a London club in the company of a journalist, during which he openly discussed his drug-taking and invited others back to his flat "for a smoke". When the report was published, it became obvious that the hapless journalist had mistaken Brian Jones for Jagger – whereupon the latter promptly sued the paper News Of The World for defamation.

However this legal action was stymied by his and Richards' subsequent arrest. The trial made front-page news around the world. Despite Jagger claiming that the pills allegedly found in his possession had been prescribed to him, both were found guilty.

The severity of the sentences handed down (imprisonment with hard labour) caused a huge public outcry. It was also the subject of the famous editorial by William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times, titled Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? In it, Rees-Mogg asserted that it was Jagger's and Richards' celebrity that made them targets, and that their sentences for first offences were more harsh than what "any purely anonymous young man" would have received. Their convictions were overturned on appeal, and they subsequently were released, though the other person arrested with them, noted London art dealer Robert Fraser, served six months.

It was during this period that Jagger took over as the effective leader of The Rolling Stones, as founder Brian Jones became more and more incapacitated by his spiralling drug use. Jones left the band in early 1969 and accidentally drowned in his swimming pool only weeks later (though rumours persist that he was murdered or had committed suicide).

International success

After the band's acrimonious split with their second manager, Allen B. Klein, Jagger took control of their business affairs and has managed them ever since, in collaboration with his friend and colleague, Prince Rupert von Löwenstein. Decades after the band's creation, The Rolling Stones continue to perform and to court controversy. The release of their 2005 album "A Bigger Bang" included the song "Sweet Neo Con" in which Jagger's lyrics openly attack the presidency of George W. Bush. In February 2006 they appeared during the Super Bowl broadcast when he was asked to omit obscenities from two songs which would be heard by a vast family audience. He did not comply with this request, but his microphone was momentarily dipped. The Stones went on to make their first visit to Puerto Rico, playing to a sell-out audience of 20,000 at the new Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. Tickets to the concert were being sold for up to $1,000, more than twice the top published price of $460. On April 8 2006, the Stones performed in Shanghai, their first ever show in mainland China. He has also signed on to appear regularly in a television sitcom based on a small group of inept thieves who want to rob him. Appropriately, the sitcom's working title is Let's Rob Mick Jagger.

Criticism and controversy

Jagger has come under fire throughout most his career but, ironically, the majority has come from music industry insiders and fans, as opposed to puritanical haters of rock and roll.

The most damning contention is related to the Stones concert at Altamont Speedway in California. In an effort to keep them from disrupting the free concert, the Rolling Stones hired the Hells Angels as concert security. However, the plan backfired as the Angels injured several fans, killing one – Meredith Hunter, an eighteen-year-old black man. It was also rumored that the Angels supplied drugs at the concert. The Rolling Stones have completely denied ever hiring the Angels.

It was rumored that the Stones, and Jagger in particular, not only did not try to stop the violence, but encouraged it, by singing "Sympathy for the Devil" while the fan died. Other rumors swirled that Jagger, despite his blues-based band and songs such as "Brown Sugar", was racist and didn't want a black fan at his concert. Neither rumor was true; concert tapes clearly show Jagger trying to calm the audience and end the violence, and Jagger has been a vocal anti-racist. Additionally, the Stones were actually playing "Under My Thumb" during Hunter's murder, but due to media pressure, they dropped "Sympathy for the Devil" from most of their '70s US live set lists.

Private life and public image

Relationships

Mick Jagger has also become well known over the years for his high profile and often infamous relationships. He has seven children to four different women and has been the subject of many scandals and affairs over the years.

As well as having several official and public relationships, Jagger has been linked to Sophie Dahl, Carly Simon, Marianne Faithfull, Uma Thurman and even David Bowie.

Mick Jagger's first child was born when he was 27. The mother, fellow singer Marsha Hunt, gave birth to daughter Karis Jagger on November 4 1970. The couple was not married and didn't remain together for long after the birth as Jagger became acquainted with activist Bianca Moreno de Macias.

In May 1971, Jagger married de Macias, later known as Bianca Jagger. Bianca, born in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1945, was a social and political activist who had studied political science and French Literature. She was unknown before her marriage to Jagger but became very well known and heard after wedding the Rolling Stone lead singer. Later the same year they were married, Bianca gave birth to her first child and Mick Jagger's second. Jade Jagger, born on October 21 1971, lived with her parents in London until they separated in 1979 and divorced in 1980.

After he separated from Bianca Jagger, Mick was rumored to be having an affair with Texas supermodel Jerry Hall in the early 1980s. Jerry Hall was rumored to be the 'other woman' who broke up the marriage between Mick and Bianca. These rumors were confirmed in 1984 when Hall gave birth to the couple's first child - Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger. Elizabeth was born on March 2 1984 in London and became known as 'Lizzy'. The birth of their child became a top news story as Jerry Hall was engaged to singer Bryan Ferry at the time. Hall had appeared on several of his album covers and they planned to eventually marry. After this, Hall became Jagger's companion and Ferry wrote the song "Cry, Cry, Cry" about her. Partners Hall and Jagger then had their second child together, James Leroy Augustin Jagger in 1988. It was also this year when Jagger famously claimed being married to girlfriend Hall would give him 'claustrophobia'. However, despite this claim Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were married in 1990 while holidaying in Bali - a resort island in Indonesia. This marriage has since been disputed since it wasn't properly conducted and may not have been an official bond. Nevertheless, Jagger and Hall soon after had a third child together - Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger. Their last child, son Gabriel Luke Beauregard was born in 1997. Jerry Hall separated from Mick Jagger in 1999 after model Luciana Gimenez claimed she was pregnant with Jagger's child. She further filed for divorce when a DNA test proved this to be true. It had been rumored an affair took place between the two earlier although nothing had become of it. Luciana and Mick's son Lucas Jagger was born in 1999 although no relationship continued between the couple.

While attempting to divorce Mick Jagger, it was found Jerry Hall had never actually been married to Jagger at all. Their Hindu wedding on a beach in Bali was, in fact, not recognised under English Law - therefore eliminating the possibility of divorce. Instead Hall had the marriage annulled in 1999, officially ending the 22-year partnership. To this day, Hall has maintained Mick Jagger is a good father and friend of hers. She has claimed he owns a flat next door and they get along better than ever before. After this, Mick Jagger did not continue a relationship with TV Presenter Luciana Gimenez, but he did continue to see his son and support the child's mother. She lives with her son in New York and Brazil.

In more recent years Mick Jagger has been touring the world and producing albums - solo and with the Rolling Stones. However, in 2005, he arrived at the Grammy Awards with fashion stylist L.Wren Scott and called her his "main point of interest". She has been seen on his current A Bigger Bang Tour and lives in Hollywood. This relationship is interesting as L'Wren is 6 foot 4 tall opposed to a much shorter Mick Jagger.

So vain?

Mick Jagger dated singer and songwriter Carly Simon in the late 1960s. In 1973, she wrote and recorded the number one hit You're So Vain about a prior boyfriend whom she claimed was "so vain/I betcha think this song is about you". Since Simon was newly married, many suspected it was about either Warren Beatty, Cat Stevens, Kris Kristofferson or Mick Jagger, probably only because his voice can so clearly be heard singing harmony on the song. Jagger has never commented on the song and Simon has never clarified the famous rumour. She has denied it being all four on different occasions but also hinted it being Beatty and Jagger. It was assumed the song was not about Jagger when Carly Simon joined Janet Jackson in 2000 for a remix of the song called "Son Of a Gun," which sampled "You're So Vain". In the song Carly says "The apricot scarf was worn by Nick/there's nothing in the words that refer to Mick".

Knighthood

Mick Jagger was knighted on 12 December 2003, aged 60, for his "services to popular music" (see [link]). His fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards was unimpressed:

"I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment... it's not what the Stones is about, is it? I don't want to step out on stage with someone wearing a fucking coronet and sporting the old ermine. I told Mick, it's a fucking paltry honour."[link]

Religion

Mick Jagger has sung about religious concepts over the years with the Rolling Stones ("Sympathy for the Devil, Blinded by Rainbows, Saint of Me") and in solo projects. For example, his Wandering Spirit and Goddess in the Doorway albums carry this theme. However, Jagger personally became a man of faith in 1999 after he joined the controversial Kabbalah religion and Hollywood Centre with wife Jerry Hall. The mystic Jewish offspring which has drawn attention by celebrities such as Madonna joining, was so popular among the Jaggers that they even held an evening to promote the church where Ron Wood, Bill Wyman and Rav Berg attended.

Despite this effort to promote the church, it has become apparent that Jagger and Hall have lost interest in the church in recent years themselves. Jerry Hall proclaimed in a 2004 interview, "We couldn't go through the door of miracles unless we gave them 10 percent of our money".

Trivia

Solo discography

Soundtrack work

Ruthless People (1987 movie)'' U.S. #2

Solo singles

Filmography

Jagger has appeared in the following movies:

  1. Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003)
  2. The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
  3. Enigma (2001)
  4. Mein liebster Feind (aka My Best Fiend) - with Klaus Kinski (1999)
  5. Bent (1997)
  6. Freejack (1992)
  7. D Wings of Ash: Pilot for a dramatisation of the life of Antonin Artaud (1978)
  8. Umano non umano (1972)
  9. Ned Kelly (1970)
  10. Performance (1970)
In 1995, Mick Jagger founded "Jagged Films" with a mission to develop and produce feature films that encompassed a wide spectrum of topics and genres. Jagged Films was primarily directed towards the broader international markets.

External links

The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger | Keith Richards | Charlie Watts | Ron Wood
Former Members
Brian Jones | Bill Wyman | Mick Taylor | Ian Stewart
See Also
Chuck Leavell | Darryl Jones | Dick Taylor | Andrew Loog Oldham | Allen Klein
Related Articles
Discography | The Glimmer Twins | Nanker Phelge | Rolling Stones Records | Rock and Roll Circus
Categories
| | | [The Rolling Stones discography#Singles|Singles] |

 

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