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The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers logo became one of the most popular images of the 1970s — even if it wasn’t created by Andy Warhol. Here’s what we know about some of the history behind the “Hot Lips” logo.

The Rolling Stones is the band behind ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ ‘Paint It, Black,” and ‘Start Me Up’

Keith Richards lies on a prop bed as Mick Jagger laughs during the production of the music video for Rolling Stones' 'Respectable'
Keith Richards lies on a prop bed as Mick Jagger laughs during the production of the music video for Rolling Stones’ ‘Respectable’ | Michael Putland/Getty Images

The five original members of the Rolling Stones included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Since their debut on the music scene, this group released “Sympathy For The Devil,” “Wild Horses,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” and “Start Me Up.”

Decades later, the Rolling Stones remain one of the most influential bands in rock and roll history, also earning recognition for their red and white logo of a tongue sticking out of a mouth. This iconic image eventually made its way to posters and t-shirts, with fans of the band sharing their appreciation for the tongue-in-cheek drawing. 

Some credit Andy Warhol with making the Rolling Stones’ logo — which is false

Because of its pop art elements and later reproductions of the cartoon, some attribute the Rolling Stones logo, also known as the Hot Lips logo, to Andy Warhol — an artist rising in popularity around the same time as the rock band. This wouldn’t be accurate, as John Pasche is the artist behind this cartoon.

“A lot of people think Andy Warhol designed it,” Victoria Broackes, senior curator at the V&A Museum, said during an interview with the New York Times, “which, of course, he didn’t.” 

In the same article, Warhol: A Life as Art author Blake Gopnik said that the red and white cartoon “could absolutely not be by Andy Warhol.”

“Warhol’s like a giant cultural magnet,” Gopnik said. “Everything adheres to him. And he made no attempt to clarify matters. He preferred factual confusion to clarity, so the idea that he be credited with the logo would have been something that he would have absolutely encouraged.”

Warhol is best known for his impact on the pop art movement, which emerged in the UK and United States during the 1950s. Sometimes referred to as the “pope of pop art,” Warhol created Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962), Banana (1967), and Marilyn Diptych (1962).

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Who created the logo for the Rolling Stones?

The creative mind behind the Rolling Stones’ logo is John Pasche — an artist known by Jagger before this collaboration. With its anti-authority connotation, this design worked well with the Rolling Stones’ music and image. 

“It’s the kind of thing kids do when they stick their tongue out at you,” Pasche said in the same New York Times article. “That was the main reason I thought it would work well.”

According to Logo My Way, some attribute this design exclusively to Jagger’s tongue — which also resembles the logo. However, the tongue was reportedly inspired by the Hindu goddess of energy and empowerment, Kali.

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