"Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their sixteenth studio album Tattoo You (1981). The song is a crowd pleaser, often performed by the band at the beginning of their concerts. It has also become a sports anthem.

Released as the album's lead single, it reached the number 1 positions on the Australia, Canada, Spain, and US Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, the number 2 position on US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the number 7 position on the UK singles chart; and it performed well in other European countries. The music video for "Start Me Up" was placed in heavy rotation on the new MTV channel in 1981, adding to the song's lengthy chart run in the US.[2]

The single's B-side is a slow blues number called "No Use in Crying", which is an album track on Tattoo You.

Writing and recording

"Start Me Up" was originally a reggae song recorded in March 1975 during sessions for the Rolling Stones' album Black and Blue before it was re-worked during the January and March 1978 sessions for the Some Girls album.[1] The song began as a reggae rock track named "Never Stop", but after dozens of takes it was abandoned. "Start Me Up" was not chosen for the album and was saved for later use. Keith Richards commented:

Release

"Start Me Up" peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Charts in September 1981 and remains the last Rolling Stones song to appear in the UK Top 10. In Australia and Spain, the song reached number 1 in November 1981. In the US, "Start Me Up" spent three weeks at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October and November 1981, behind Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)",[6] becoming the Stones' biggest hit of the 1980s in the United States.[7]

The single spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart.[8] This set a record that was not broken until 1994 when Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song" spent 15 weeks at number 1.

"Start Me Up" is often used to open the Rolling Stones' live shows and has been featured on the live albums Still Life (recorded 1981, released 1982), Flashpoint (recorded 1989, released 1991), Live Licks (recorded 2003, released 2004), Shine a Light (recorded 2006, released 2008), and Hyde Park Live (2013). It is also featured on several Stones live-concert films and DVD/Blu-ray sets: Let's Spend the Night Together (filmed 1981, released 1983), Stones at the Max (filmed 1990, released 1991), The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge Live (filmed 1994, released 1995), Bridges to Babylon Tour '97–98 (filmed 1997, released 1998), Four Flicks (2003), The Biggest Bang (filmed 2006, released 2007), Shine a Light (filmed 2006, released 2008), Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live (2013), and Havana Moon (2016, bonus track). The song was the first of three songs played by the Stones during halftime at Super Bowl XL in 2006.[2]

The song has been included on every major Stones compilation album since its release, including Rewind (1971–1984), Jump Back, Forty Licks, and GRRR!. Writing for AllMusic, Stewart Mason called it "the last great Rolling Stones song."[9] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the 8th Best Sports Anthem.[10]

Personnel

Credits sourced from Sound On Sound and the authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon.[11][12]

The Rolling Stones

Additional personnel

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[36] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[37] Platinum 70,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38] 3× Platinum 90,000‡
Spain (Promusicae)[39] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Commercial usage

Microsoft paid about US$3 million to use this song in their Windows 95 marketing campaign.[41][42] Due to their well-known unwillingness to using their music for advertising, contemporary reporting has suggested that this was the first time that the Rolling Stones licensed their music for commercials.[43] However this collaboration represented the first time since 1964, as fans unearthed that the band was paid £400 to perform a Rice Krispies television advertisement in the United Kingdom, with a jingle co-written with Brian Jones.[44] In 2012, a remixed version of the song was used as the soundtrack to an Omega advertising campaign for their role as official timekeepers of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[45]

CBS Sports played the song to begin the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Selection Show as a tribute to Greg Gumbel, the longtime host of "March Madness" who had died at the end of 2024.[46]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Buskin, Richard. "Classic Tracks: Start Me Up". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Fornatale, Pete; Corbett, Bernard M.; Fornatale, Peter Thomas (2013). 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of the Rolling Stones. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 201–202. ISBN 9781608199211.
  3. ↑ "Start Me Up". Time Is on Our Side. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  4. ↑ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. 15 August 1981. p. 83. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 15 August 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  6. ↑ tolsen (2 January 2013). "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  7. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), pages 548–549.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 539.
  9. ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Song Review: Start Me Up". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Music | New Music News, Reviews, Pictures, and Videos". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Buskin, Richard (April 2004). "Classic Tracks: The Rolling Stones 'Start Me Up'". Sound On Sound.
  12. ↑ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2022). The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track (Expanded ed.). New York City: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 522. ISBN 978-0-7624-7908-5.
  13. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  16. ↑ Every number one single on radio station chum from Toronto, Canada[better source needed]
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Image 0400". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  18. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Rolling Stones". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 38, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  20. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  21. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". VG-lista. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Search results for "Rolling Stones" | Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  26. ↑ "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "All #1 Hits on the US Mainstream Rock Charts 1981-2023 - RYM/Sonemic".
  28. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 singles" (PDF). Cashbox. 14 November 1981. p. 4.
  29. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  30. ↑ Kimberley, Chris (2000). Zimbabwe : Zimbabwe Singles Chart Book. Harare.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  31. ↑ "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  32. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1981". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  33. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1981". RPM. Retrieved 23 November 2024 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  34. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  35. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  36. ↑ "Danish single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  37. ↑ "Italian single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Start Me Up" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  38. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". Radioscope. Retrieved 23 September 2025. Type Start Me Up in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  39. ↑ "Spanish single certifications". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  40. ↑ "British single certifications – Rolling Stones – Start Me Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 August 2022. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Start Me Up Rolling Stones in the "Search:" field.
  41. ↑ McNamara, Paul (29 June 2011). "What Microsoft paid The Stones to help launch Windows 95". Network World. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  42. ↑ "Toronto’s Jingle King still crooning" Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Toronto Star, Christopher Reynolds 5 June 2016
  43. ↑ "Rolling Stones Sell Microsoft Right To Use Song In Ads". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  44. ↑ https://www.loudersound.com/features/rolling-stones-rice-krispies
  45. ↑ "Rolling Stones Help Launch Omega Olympic Campaign with 'Start Me Up'". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  46. ↑ Silverman, Blake (16 March 2025). "CBS Had Heartwarming Greg Gumbel Tribute to Begin NCAA Tournament Selection Show". SI.com.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start_Me_Up