1978 · Behind the Songs
The Stones go to the disco — and walk out with a chart-topper.
“Miss You” was the lead single from Some Girls, the album the Rolling Stones recorded from October to December 1977 at Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was the band’s open-eared answer to disco: a four-on-the-floor groove that stayed unmistakably the Stones.
The song rides on Bill Wyman’s bassline — one of the funkiest the band ever cut — while harmonica player Sugar Blue, a street musician Jagger discovered in Paris, wails through the breaks. Released as a single in May 1978, “Miss You” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1978 and No. 3 in Britain; the 12-inch disco version stretches past eight minutes. The Some Girls album itself returned the band to No. 1 on the American album chart.
“Miss You” proved the Stones could absorb a new sound without surrendering their identity — a trick they would repeat for decades. What to listen for: Wyman’s bass locked with Charlie Watts’ drums, and Sugar Blue’s harmonica answering Jagger’s falsetto backing vocals.