1971Released
3:48

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Brown Sugar - 2009 Remaster. By Songfacts®.

The lyric is about slaves from Africa who were sold in New Orleans and raped by their white masters. The subject matter is quite serious, but the way the song is structured, it comes off as a fun rocker about a white guy having sex with a black girl.

Mick Jagger wrote the lyric. According to Bill Wyman, it was partially inspired by a black backup singer named Claudia Lennear, who was one of Ike Turner's Ikettes. She and Jagger met when The Stones toured with Turner in 1969. David Bowie also wrote his Aladdin Sane track "Lady Grinning Soul" about Lennear. American-born singer Marsha Hunt is also sometimes cited as the inspiration for the song. She and Jagger met when she was a member of the cast in the London production of the musical Hair, and their relationship, a closely guarded secret until 1972, resulted in a daughter named Karis.

According to the book Up And Down With The Rolling Stones by Tony Sanchez, all the slavery and whipping is a double meaning for the perils of being "mastered" by Brown Heroin, or "Brown Sugar." The drug cooks brown in a spoon.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Brown Sugar - 2009 Remaster.
CKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
129BPM

Album

The album Brown Sugar - 2009 Remaster is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Brown Sugar - 2009 Remaster.
Polydor Records
© 2009 Promotone B.V., under exclusive licence to Universal International Music B.V.
℗ 2009 Promotone B.V., under exclusive licence to Universal International Music B.V.

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