“Just ask the question! The worst that can happen is ‘no’”: Andrew Watt on how he got the Rolling Stones out of their comfort zone
Producer Andrew Watt has revealed how he managed to get The Rolling Stones to finally cover Muddy Waters’ Rollin’ Stone – the track that inspired their band name.
When in the studio with the band, Watt came to realise that sometimes there really was no harm in just asking a question, even if he thought the answer might be no. He worked with the rock legends on their latest record, Hackney Diamonds, and has also produced for a number of pop artists, such as Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus.
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In a new interview with Variety, Watt explains how he got the band to try new things: “You hear all these [intimidating] stories, but you’ve got to let them go,” he says. “I came with no baggage, so asking Mick [Jagger] or Keith [Richards] to do something that they wouldn’t normally do – anyone around them would say, ‘They’re never going to do that.’ But I just asked. That’s how songs like Rolling Stone Blues happened.”
He goes on to explain, “I wanted them to do a blues song, and Keith had been playing this unbelievable acoustic blues that I’d kept asking Mick to write lyrics for. Mick didn’t really get frustrated with me that much over the course of the album, but he had so many lyrics to write that he was finally like, ‘Andy, I’m not writing lyrics for a blues, stop asking me!’”
However, things changed when Watt heard Richards playing the Muddy Waters track. “I asked if he’d cover it. He said, ‘In a heartbeat, but Mick will never do it.’ I said, ‘Do you mind if I ask him?’”
He continues, “I called Mick and said, ‘Listen, I gave up on the blues lyrics, but Keith’s playing Rolling Stone Blues and it sounds fucking amazing. You guys have never covered it – let’s just record it, and if it’s not great, we won’t use it.’” Jagger replied, “‘Okay, I’ll be there in two hours.’”
Watt concludes, “It was the same thing when I asked Paul McCartney to play bass on a Rolling Stones song: silence for 10 seconds, then ‘Yeah, I’d love to.’ Just ask the question! The worst that can happen is ‘no.’”
Hackney Diamonds is available to buy or stream now.
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