Jumpin' Jack Flash

Jagger and Richards wrote it, and recording began during the Beggars Banquet sessions of 1968. Richards said he played a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic in open D with a capo, with a second Nashville-tuned acoustic over it, and pushed both through a Philips cassette recorder. Richards said the title came from the footsteps of his gardener, Jack Dyer, outside the window. Bill Wyman has said he came up with the riff with Jones and Watts. Wyman played organ, Jones rhythm guitar, Ian Stewart piano and Jimmy Miller added backing vocals.

Jagger said in 1995 that it is about having a hard time and getting out. Jones said in 1968 that it was about getting back to the funky, essential essence.

Release and live history

Decca released it in Britain on 24 May 1968 with Child of the Moon on the B-side, and London followed in the United States a week later. It reached number one in Britain and number three in the United States. It first appeared on an album on the compilation Through the Past, Darkly in 1969. The band has played it on every tour since its release, and it is the song they have played in concert most often. The only released live performance with Jones is on the Rock and Roll Circus film. Since Hyde Park on 5 July 1969 Richards has played it in open G with a capo on the fourth fret. Rolling Stone ranked it number 144 on its 2021 list of the greatest songs.