Mick Jagger’s favourite modern blues song
The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has built up an encyclopedic knowledge of the blues since being seduced to the genre by the likes of Muddy Waters as a teenager. From there, his obsession has only deepened with each passing year, and Jagger’s record collection has expanded as he exposes himself to more and more of the blues.
While he was growing up, the blues wasn’t particularly hard to seek out. It was one of the main musical genres and regularly infiltrated the charts, which resulted in subsequent radio play. Although it’s now easier than ever to source sounds from any genre with the help of algorithms on streaming platforms, music fans still need to know the right place to look, and blues is less prevalent in the mainstream than it once was.
In 2020, Jagger temporarily took over the Planet Rock radio show Blues Power and the programme’s playlist comprised his ten favourite blues songs. As part of the broadcast, the Stones frontman opted to air deep cuts from the genre, which show him flex his robust knowledge upon listeners, and began the episode with the Freddie King track ‘Palace Of The King’. Of the song, Jagger said: “Freddie King, a great guitar player. This was recorded by Shelter Records, originally. I think in charge of the band was Leon Russell playing piano on the track.”
Notably, nine of Jagger’s ten selections were from the distant past and the golden age of the blues. This age gap is expected due to blues becoming more obscure over the years, but he did make an exception for Alabama Shakes, one of the few acts from the modern era whose take on his beloved sound have been approved by The Rolling Stones frontman.
The trio formed in Alabama in 2009 and released two albums before parting ways in 2017 ahead of singer Brittany Howard launching an impressive career as a solo artist. The group won four Grammy Awards, including ‘Best Alternative Music Album’ for their second offering, Sound & Color.
Jagger decided against picking ‘Hold On’ or ‘Don’t Wanna Fight’ and instead chose to select the non-album track, ‘Always Alright’. Despite not appearing on either of the band’s full-length releases, it’s one of their most popular creations on streaming platforms since being released in 2013.
The Rolling Stones frontman singled out Howard’s vocals as a major compelling attribute of the song and commented, “Bringing things really up to the present day, Brittany Howard, fantastic singer with the Alabama Shakes ‘Always Alright’, which I particularly like.”
While Alabama Shakes are no more, Howard remains the most soulful singer in contemporary roots of rock. Additionally, ‘Always Alright’ is proof of the timelessness of blues, which, if executed correctly, will never go out of fashion.
