The Rolling Stones classic written after they had “been up all night”
Most people can barely function after pulling an all-nighter. They stumble into work the next day, hoping none of their coworkers will notice the bags under their eyes, going through the motions until it hits 5pm and they can run back home to the comfort of their duvet. But The Rolling Stones were entirely accustomed to the practice of staying up into the early hours of the morning, and they even wrote one of their signature songs after a night of no sleep.
Few bands encompassed the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle quite like the Stones did. Led by suave frontman and famed womaniser Mick Jagger, with support from his songwriting partner Keith Richards, they told tales of sex and debauchery in their songs while they lived them out behind the scenes. Somehow, their lifestyles didn’t halt their productivity, as they penned some of the most enduring rock songs in music history along the way.
One of the band’s most famous hits, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’, was penned after the Jagger and Richards had pulled an all-nighter. Richards recalled the experience during a conversation with Rolling Stone, remembering, “The lyrics came from a grey dawn at Redlands. Mick and I had been up all night; it was raining outside, and there was the sound of these boots near the window…”
Richards gave no details on why he and Jagger had pulled an all-nighter, but their moonlit escapades clearly didn’t infringe upon their ability to pen a good tune. Jagger’s futile attempts to sleep were soon interrupted by the sound of footsteps outside, which belonged to Richards’ gardener, Jack Dyer. While this would be an annoyance to most people, Jagger and Richards quickly turned it into an opportunity to write.
“He said, ‘What’s that?’” Richards recalled, “I said, ‘Oh, that’s Jack. That’s jumping Jack.’” Suddenly, from one tiny, sleep-deprived conversation, the duo had a jumping-off point for what would become one of their biggest hits. Richards picked up his guitar and played around with the words “jumping Jack” until Mick added the word “Flash” into the mix.
“Suddenly, we had this phrase with a great rhythm and ring to it,” Richards remembered. They certainly did. They adorned the phrase with clean riffs and Jagger’s iconic vocals, forging ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ out of their insomniac inspiration. “But it’s all right now. In fact, it’s a gas,” Jagger sang on the track. “But it’s all right. I’m jumpin’ jack flash. It’s a gas, gas, gas.”
His words didn’t make much sense, the real and raw ramblings of a man running on no sleep, but it didn’t matter. ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ was released as a single in 1968, and it took on a life of its own, endearing itself to audiences and other artists for decades to come. Since then, the track has been taken on by countless others, from soul legend Aretha Franklin to punk rockers The Replacements. It even inspired a 1986 film of the same name, starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Between a sleepless night and the sound of a gardener’s boots, Richards and Jagger had created yet another classic to add to their catalogue. Over half a century later, the song still gets audiences singing along, even though they may have no idea who ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ really is.
