The Rolling Stones achieved another milestone in their decades-spanning rock music career by earning their first no. 1 hit on iTunes with the coronavirus-era song, “Living in a Ghost Town.”
The Stones haven’t charted since their 1981 hit “Start Me Up.” But now, in the streaming era, the band that was founded in 1962, has hit it big once again. It is also the band’s first original song since their two tracks from 2012, “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot.”
The rockers dropped their song on Thursday. But the song was reportedly written last year, long before the coronavirus roiled the world.
Band member Keith Richards introduced the song on Twitter on Wednesday:
‘Living In A Ghost Town' out everywhere at 5pm BST today – thanks to Beats 1 for the first play pic.twitter.com/mUlnxpcliA
— Keith Richards (@officialKeef) April 23, 2020
“Life was so beautiful, then we all got locked down,” Jagger sings in the tune. “Feel a like ghost living in a ghost town. … So much time to lose just staring at my phone.”
“The Stones were in the studio recording some new material before the lockdown, and there was one song we thought would resonate through the times that we’re living in right now,” Jagger said in a statement according to USA Today. “We’ve worked on it in isolation. And here it is – It’s called ‘Living In A Ghost Town’ – I hope you like it.”
“We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album,” guitarist Richards added. “And then (expletive) hit the fan Mick and I decided this one really needed to go to work right now.”
The Stones are one of the few bands still in existence from the heyday of 1960s rock-n-roll. The boys had hits in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and have not stopped touring despite the many proclamations that they were done with the stage.
The Stones had to postpone their 2020 North American summer tour due to the coronavirus.
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