The 10 Highest-Grossing Mick Jagger Songs, Ranked
Jessica Cortez Quick Links
In the history of rock music and songwriting, Sir Michael Phillip Jagger cannot be omitted due to his major contributions and the legacy he has created in his over six decades of music career. Sir Michael Phillip Jagger is a songwriter and singer who is well known and acknowledged for his achievements, influence and worldwide fame as a one of the founding members and lead vocalists of the rock band, Rolling Stones, a rock band that was founded in 1962. Mick Jagger and members of his band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. His songs, both solo and band music, have performed quite well on the US and UK singles charts, with some of them making it to No. 1, top 10, and even top 40 on the charts. In this piece, let’s explore his top 10 best-selling songs according to the units sold!
Visions of Paradise - 2002 (597 Thousand Units)
Via Flickr/Discogs
This song was on the first solo album Mick Jagger made after his reconciliation album with his band. The song was made on the album Goddess in the Doorway, an album which received several contributions from Mick Jagger’s music friends such as Bono, Joe Perry, Pete Townsend, amongst many others.
It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It) - 1974 (1.1 Million Units)
Via Flickr/Rock&Folk
This song was on the 12th British album Rolling Stones made called It’s Rock ‘n Roll. It was released in 1974, and its first track It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It) was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The song was received widely and made its way to top of the charts with Cash Box referring to the song as; “a hard rocker with the traditional Stones power that displays a really great hook" with "driving instrumentation and Jagger's inimitable vocal style."
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Let It Loose - 1972 (1.4 Million Units)
Via Wikimedia Commons
Exile On Main St. is the album that preceded Sticky Fingers and it birthed another amazing song Let It Loose, a song by Mick Jagger and his band, Rolling Stones. This is one song that has been described by the music critic Russel Hall, as Mick Jagger’s finest-ever vocal achievement.
Lucky In Love - 1985 (1.5 Million Units)
Via Flickr/Raw Music Store
Lucky in Love was the seventh track on Mick Jagger’s second single on his debut album She’s the Boss which was released in 1985. The song is about 5 minutes long and is reported to have made waves back in 1985 when it first came out. It is also one of two songs from She’s the Boss album that made it to Mick Jagger’s greatest hits album; The Very Best of Mick Jagger and it has had its single version repeatedly remixed and released on video. The song also peaked number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.
Emotional Rescue - 1980 (2.3 Million Units)
Via Flickr/Discogs
Emotional Rescue was written in 1979 but released in 1980 in an album of the same name which of course features Mick Jagger as the lead vocalist. The song was recorded right in the middle of a fight between Mick Jagger and his partner/music twin Keith Richards over the direction of the song. The song was loved by many fans despite that some fans actually took note of the difference and new direction of the song which was due to the rift between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Mixed Emotions - 1989 (3.3 Million Units)
Via Flickr/Discogs
This song is a comeback song on the first album made after Mick Jagger and Keith Richards reconciled and became music twins again. Mick Jagger wrote Mixed Emotions and was also the lead vocalist for the song when it was released in 1989. Mixed Emotions is termed as the band’s final Billboard top 10 hits, a financial success and in the year 2000, it was voted number 568 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Brown Sugar - 1971 (3.4 Million Units)
Via Wikimedia Commons
This was originally written by Mick Jagger who wrote it for his then girlfriend and mother of his first child in 1969. It was later rewritten with Keith Richards before being released by the Rolling Stones band in 1971. Brown Sugar was released as the first single of Rolling Stone Records on the album; Sticky Fingers and it is on the of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
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Angie - 1973 (3.6 Million Units)
Via Wikimedia Commons
This is one song that made it to the top of the charts as number one in over five countries since its release in 1973 in Jamaica. Angie released as a lead single on the 11th British and 13th American album Goats Head Soup by Rolling Stones with Mick Jaggers leading the vocals. The song performed greatly on its own and may have even helped boost the album it was released in as well.
Start Me Up - 1981 (5 Million Units)
Via Wikimedia Commons
This is one of the songs made during the rift between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was written by Mick Jagger and released on the album Tattoo You. The song was such a commercial success that Microsoft paid $3,000,000 to make use of the song for their Windows 95 advertisement and by 2012, a remixed version of the song was made to be used as soundtrack for an Omega advertising campaign for their role as official timekeepers of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Miss You - 1978 (6.3 Million Units)
Via Flickr/Victoriana
Miss You is a hit single that performed greatly on its own as one of the songs in one of the best-selling albums of Rolling Stones band, Some Girls. The song was co-written by Mick Jagger as lead vocal with Keith Richards as backup vocals and it recorded remarkable success commercially and is even, so, it was no surprise that it made it to the number one spot on Billboard Hot 100.
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Sources: Metal Castle, Far Out Magazine, and Ultimate Classic Rock.
