Over the years, The Rolling Stones have released 25 studio albums and more than 420 songs. One of their most controversial songs to date is ‘Brown Sugar.’ Released in 1970 on the band’s ninth studio album, Sticky Fingers, this song has been widely criticized for its take on slavery and its offensive remarks towards black women.
As it turns out, African-American soul singer Claudia Lennear was the source of inspiration for ’Brown Sugar.’ Lennear briefly dated the band’s frontman, Mick Jagger, in 1969, when Ike & Tina Turner were the opening act for The Rolling Stones’ American tour.
This is about the time when this controversial song was first written, which has led many to believe she’s the source of inspiration behind this song. This seems to be true as bassist Bill Wyman confirmed it in his book Rolling with the Stones. Lennear is also said to have been the inspiration behind David Bowie’s 1972 song ‘Lady Grinning Soul.’
Over the years, many critics have called out The Rolling Stones’ ‘Brown Sugar,’ pointing out that the track contains “some of the most stunningly crude and offensive lyrics that have ever been written” and that it’s plain “gross, sexist, and stunningly offensive toward black women.” However, Lennear has defended the song on more than one occasion.
Lennear told SPIN that she considers ‘Brown Sugar’ to be “one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and not because I had anything to do with it.” The singer has gone as far as claiming that censoring this song would mean “missing out on a great part of rock & roll history. When do we learn to understand history without getting upset? Right now we’re not really in that space.”
Lennear even pointed out that ‘Brown Sugar’ has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs and should be appreciated for that.
“It’s just a great riff. It’s a great hook. Keith Richards plays those first two notes, everyone is on their feet, everybody’s clapping, dancing, singing. When I hear it, my first thought is: long live the Rolling Stones,” she explained.
