You Can't Always Get What You Want

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"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Song
This article is about the song by the Rolling Stones. See You Can't Always Get What You Want (Grounded for Life episode) for the Grounded for Life episode.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the Rolling Stones released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in its 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

The song was recorded on 16th and 17th November 1968. It features the London Bach Choir powerfully opening the song, highlighting throughout, and bringing it to a uproarious conclusion. Jimmy Miller, the Rolling Stones' producer at the time, plays drums on this song instead of Charlie Watts. Al Kooper plays piano, organ and French horn while Rocky Dijon plays congas and maracas.

The song became very popular during the waning days of the 1960s. An edited version was released as the B-Side to "Honky Tonk Women".

An instrumental version of this song is used at Alex's funeral in the movie The Big Chill where it is noted as his favorite song. In 1990, George Michael used the song title in his hit Waiting For That Day and duly gave Jagger and Richards a songwriting credit. It also features in at least three episodes of House (Dr. Gregory House, the show's protagonist, also refers to the song in the pilot episode, quoting "the philosopher Jagger.") and in an episode of Nip/Tuck and was also used in the Coca-Cola C2 commercials in 2004.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is very popular at Stones shows due to the sing-along chorus, and is played at almost every show (where it is custom for Jagger to change the lyrics from "my favourite flavour, cherry red" to the question "What's your favourite flavour?" to which the audience replies "Cherry red"). Live recordings appear on the albums Love You Live, Flashpoint, and Live Licks.

Several urban legends persist about the origin of this song, much like with You're So Vain. The most prominent among the stories is that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were in Muncie, Indiana for a concert at Ball State University in April 1968, (coincidentally two days before Robert F. Kennedy's appearance in Muncie on the day of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination). Mick and Keith stopped by Brown's Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in Muncie before the concert. According to legend, Mick ordered a Cherry Coke from John Birkemeier, a Ball State student employed at the counter. Birkemeier told Mick that they did not have any Cherry Coke available. Mick couldn't believe it and Birkemeier replied "you can't always get what you want" supposedly inspiring the famous song. Lending credibility to this tale is the fact that to this day, whenever The Rolling Stones appear in his area, John Birkemeier receives free tickets and a limo ride to the concert. It has also been said that this exchange occured between Mick Jagger and a man named Jimmy in Excelsior, Minnesota when the Rolling Stones were performing at the now-defunct Excelsior Amusement Park.

A cover version of the song appeared on Track 12 of the Jam Band Rusted Root's Self Titled Album in 1998.


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