Brown Sugar

The harmony of 'Brown Sugar' is deceptively simple on paper but rich in execution. The song draws its power from the tension between a mostly static C tonic and the blues-derived flat-side chords (bIII, bVI, bVII) that color the progression. Keith Richards' open-G tuning creates a naturally resonant, droning quality that reinforces the blues-rock foundation. The bVI–bVII–I cadence in the chorus is one of the most effective harmonic lifts in rock music, and the overall approach exemplifies the Stones' ability to create maximum energy from minimal harmonic material.

Though credited to the Jagger–Richards songwriting partnership, 'Brown Sugar' was primarily written by Mick Jagger during the filming of the movie Ned Kelly in Australia in 1969. The lyrics deliberately mixed provocative themes including slavery, interracial desire, and drug use into what Jagger later called 'a mishmash' of controversial subjects. Multiple women have claimed to be the song's inspiration, including Marsha Hunt (Jagger's girlfriend at the time and mother of his first child) and former Ikette Claudia Lennear, with bassist Bill Wyman confirming in his book Rolling with the Stones (2002) that the lyrics were partially inspired by Lennear.

Released in 1971 as the lead single from Sticky Fingers, 'Brown Sugar' showcases the Rolling Stones at their rawest and most provocative. Built on Keith Richards' open-G tuning riff and Mick Jagger's deliberately incendiary lyrics mixing references to slavery, drugs, and desire, it topped charts in the US and Canada and remains one of the defining songs of the classic rock era.