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TL;DR:

  • Keith Richards said one of The Rolling Stones’ songs sounded like vaudeville music initially.
  • He said an electric 12-string guitar gave the song more “bite.”
  • Richards wasn’t sure who thought up the ending of the track.
The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and Mick Jagger on a floor
The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards and Mick Jagger | Mark and Colleen Hayward / Contributor

Keith Richards said one of The Rolling Stones‘ songs initially sounded like vaudeville music. He wanted to add more “bite” to the song. Subsequently, the track became a hit in the United States but not the United Kingdom.

Keith Richards had no idea where an electric guitar came from when he played it on 1 of The Rolling Stones’ songs

During a 2012 interview with Guitar World, Richards discussed the evolution of “Mother’s Little Helper.” “The track just needed something to make it twang, he said. “Otherwise, the song was quite vaudeville in a way. I wanted to add some nice bite to it. 

“And it was just one of those things where someone walked in and, ‘Look, it’s an electric 12-string,'” he added. “It was some gashed-up job. No name on it. God knows where it came from. Or where it went. But I put it together with a bottleneck.” 

Why Keith Richards compared the song to ‘Paint It Black’

Richards discussed the riff from “Mother’s Little Helper.” “Then we had a riff that tied the whole thing together,” he said. “And I think we overdubbed onto that. Because I played an acoustic guitar as well.”

Richards revealed another member of the band might have helped make the song what it is. “I think I had that song pretty well set up, arrangement-wise, when I brought it into the studio,” Richards remembered. “I had the main riff. It might have been Bill Wyman who came up with that ending. He was also instrumental on ‘Paint It Black,’ adding organ pedals to the bottom end.” Richards likened “Mother’s Little Helper” and “Paint It Black” to Romani music.

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How The Rolling Stones’ ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Mother’s Little Helper” became a hit in the United States. The track peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for nine weeks. The Rolling Stones included “Mother’s Little Helper” on the compilation album Hot Rocks 1964–1971. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for a total of 394 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Mother’s Little Helper” never charted in the United Kingdom. The tune appeared on the U.K. edition of the album Aftermath. The album reached No. 1 for eight weeks and stayed on the chart for a total of 24 weeks.

Richards gave “Mother’s Little Helper” some extra “bite” and the song became a hit.

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