Keith Richards Was Told 1 Rolling Stones Song Was ‘Almost Psychotic’
One of The Rolling Stones‘ songs is about a serial killer. Keith Richards was told the song was “almost psychotic.” Subsequently, Richards discussed what he thought about the track.
1 of The Rolling Stones’ songs is about the Boston Strangler
The Rolling Stones were not afraid to tackle macabre subjects. For example, the song “Midnight Rambler” from the album Let It Bleed (1969) is a depiction of the mysterious serial killer known as the Boston Strangler. The Boston Strangler was later confirmed to be a military police officer named Albert DeSalvo.
The book Keith Richards on Keith Richards: Interviews & Encounters includes an interview from 1971. In it, Richards was asked if Let It Bleed was the band’s best album. “I haven’t heard it for a long time, and I believe things like ‘Midnight Rambler’ come through better live, because we’ve extended it more,” he said. “Sometimes when you record something you go off half-cocked because maybe you haven’t ever played it live.”
Keith Richards said the song’s lyrics ‘can mean a thousand different things to anybody’
Richards was asked if “Midnight Rambler” was part of Mick Jagger’s persona. “Usually when you write you just kick Mick off on something and let him fly on it, just let it roll out and listen to it and start to pick up on certain words that are coming through and it’s built up on that,” Richards said. “A lot of people still complain they can’t hear the voice properly. If the words come through, it’s fine, if they don’t, that’s all right too because anyway they can mean a thousand different things to anybody.”
The interviewer stated “Midnight Rambler” was “almost psychotic.” “It’s just something that’s there, that’s always been there,” he replied. “Some kind of chemistry. Mick and I can really get it on together. It’s one way to channel it out.” Richards revealed he and Jagger wrote the song together while sitting around a big fire.
How The Rolling Stones’ ‘Midnight Rambler’ and ‘Let It Bleed’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Midnight Rambler” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The track appeared on the album Let It Bleed. The album hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for a total of 44 weeks.
“Midnight Rambler” was never a single in the United Kingdom; therefore, The Official Charts Company reports the song never charted there. Meanwhile, Let It Bleed peaked at No. 1 in the U.K. for one week, remaining on the chart for a total of 29 weeks.
“Midnight Rambler” is a classic track, even if it has morbid origins.
