Start Me Up

Keith Richards found the riff for this track in 1975 while working on the album Black and Blue, but the band shelved the slow reggae demo titled "Never Stop" because it lacked punch. Ten years later, Richards transformed that dormant idea into a driving hard rock groove with a signature guitar intro that would become one of the most recognizable openings in rock history.

The final version arrived as the lead single from the sixteenth studio album Tattoo You on August 14, 1981. Released ten days before the record hit shelves, the song captured the band's raw energy with lyrics about passion and momentum. Jagger and Richards delivered a performance where the hook "If you start me up, I'll never stop" echoed through stadiums and radio waves alike.

Commercially, the track reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September 1981, holding that spot for two weeks. Although it missed the top rank, it became the band's longest-charting single on that chart, spending 21 weeks climbing the rankings. In the UK, the song peaked at number five on the Singles Chart. The music video directed by David Mallet showed the group performing in a warehouse setting, cementing the visual identity of the anthem. [edit]