''She's the Boss'' is the debut solo album by English singer

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, released in 1985. When Jagger's group

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

signed with Columbia/CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger eagerly began working on ''She's the Boss''.

Background

Following the release of the Stones' 1983 album ''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

'', Jagger began composing material for his first solo project. He obtained the help of various musician friends in the studio when recording began in May 1984. Contributors included

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Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garso ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

and the Bahamas-based musicians known as

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. Jagger would share production duties with

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, w ...

and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, Jagger's longtime musical partner in the Rolling Stones, was not pleased that Jagger was pursuing solo work, feeling that their band should be both their first priority; Richards was especially upset because in 1983, Jagger had piggy-backed a three album solo deal with Columbia on the multi-million Stones deal without informing any of the other Stones. The increasing animosity between both musicians would publicly erupt in 1986 before they resolved their differences a few years later. In his 2010 memoir ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', Richards compared ''She's the Boss'' to ''

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'': "Everybody had a copy, but nobody listened to it." ''She's the Boss'' was released in February 1985 – preceded by its lead song "Just Another Night". Both the album and its first single became worldwide hits, with "Just Another Night" reaching No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and No. 12 on the US pop chart, and ''She's the Boss'' going to No. 6 in the UK and No. 13 in the US, where it went platinum. The follow-up single "Lucky in Love" would be a Top 40 US hit. The single version (which was also released on video) has been remixed considerably from the album version. The single version is 4:51 long. The version of "Hard Woman" released as a single (with an accompanying video) is radically different from the album version. The single is titled "Hard Woman (New Version)". The video for "Hard Woman" extensively utilised a

Cray X-MP The Cray X-MP was a supercomputer designed, built and sold by Cray Research. It was announced in 1982 as the "cleaned up" successor to the 1975 Cray-1, and was the world's fastest computer from 1983 to 1985 with a quad-processor system performance ...

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for its animation, making it one of the most expensive music videos made to that point in time. "Lonely at the Top" was recorded by the Rolling Stones in 1979 with altered lyrics and a less uplifting sound. The success of the album – impacted by Jagger's solo appearance at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

that July and his rush-recorded duet hit cover of "Dancing in the Street" with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

— influenced Jagger to record a successor, ''

Primitive Cool ''Primitive Cool'' is the second solo album by English singer Mick Jagger and was released in 1987. As the follow-up to Jagger's 1985 album ''She's the Boss'', ''Primitive Cool'' was another attempt by Jagger to make him a solo star. Background ...

'', which would be released in 1987. Although originally released by Columbia, ''She's the Boss'' was acquired and reissued by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in 1993, following the release of Jagger's third album, '' Wandering Spirit'', also issued by Atlantic. In 1986, Jamaican reggae singer Patrick Alley attempted to sue Jagger over the song " Just Another Night," which Alley claims he had recorded in 1979 and released on his 1982 album, '' A Touch of Patrick Alley''. Alley claimed that

Sly Dunbar Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

(who played drums on ''She's the Boss'') also played on his recording. The case was cleared in 1988, with Jagger stating "My reputation is really cleared. If you're well known, people stand up and take shots at you."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

*Mick Jagger – vocals, backing vocals, harmonica *

Wally Badarou Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from Benin, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group Level 42, and for his prolific work ...

– synthesizer on "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *

– lead guitar on "Lonely at the Top", "Running Out of Luck", "Hard Woman", "Just Another Night" and "She's the Boss"; guitar on "Lucky in Love"; acoustic guitar on "Just Another Night" *

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

– strings arrangement and conductor on "Hard Woman" *

John Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roge ...

– synthesizer on "Just Another Night" *

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

– percussion on "Lucky in Love", congas on "She's the Boss" *

Aïyb Dieng Aïyb Dieng is a Senegalese drummer and percussionist specializing in hand drums. He has recorded two solo album, including ''Rhythmagick'' (1995), and has worked with a wide range of musicians, including as a regular collaborator of bassist/pro ...

– shaker on "Just Another Night", water drums on "Lucky in Love" *

– drums on "Running Out of Luck", "Just Another Night", "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

– bass guitar on "1/2 a Loaf", "Turn the Girl Loose" and "Secrets" *

Steve Ferrone Steve Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Average Whi ...

– drums on "1/2 a Loaf" *

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

– programming, electronic drums on "Just Another Night", percussion on "She's the Boss" *

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952 in Cape Town, South Africa), known as "The Thunder from Down Under", is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Ba ...

– drums on "Turn the Girl Loose" and "Secrets" *

Guy Fletcher Guy Edward Fletcher (born 24 May 1960) is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as one of the two Keyboard instrument, keyboard players in the rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his subs ...

– synthesizer on "Lonely at the Top", "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *

Bernard Fowler Bernard Fowler (born January 2, 1960) is an American musician. He is known for a long association with The Rolling Stones, providing backing vocals since 1989 and on their studio recordings and live tours. Fowler has been a featured guest vocal ...

– backing vocals on "Lonely at the Top", "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...

– piano on "Hard Woman" *

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

on "Lonely at the Top", synthesizer on "Running Out of Luck", "Turn the Girl Loose" and "Lucky in Love" *Colin Hodgkinson – bass guitar on "Hard Woman" *

– bass guitar, synthesizer on "Just Another Night" *

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

– Hammond organ on "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *Ron Magness – synthesizer on "Just Another Night" * Eddie Martinez – lead guitar on "1/2 a Loaf", guitar on "Lonely at the Top", "Running Out of Luck" and "She's the Boss" *Alfa Anderson – ladies rap on "Turn the Girl Loose" *

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

– baritone saxophone on "Turn the Girl Loose" *Daniel Ponce – bata drum on "Running Out of Luck" *

– guitar on "1/2 a Loaf" and "Secrets" *

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...

– keyboards, piano, synthesizer on "1/2 a Loaf" and "Secrets" *

Robbie Shakespeare Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare (27 September 1953 – 8 December 2021) was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as ...

– bass guitar on "Running Out of Luck", "Just Another Night", "Lucky in Love" and "She's the Boss" *

Michael Shrieve Michael Shrieve (born July 6, 1949) is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second youn ...

– drums on "Lonely at the Top" *

G. E. Smith George Edward Smith (''né'' Haddad; born January 27, 1952) is an American guitarist. Smith was the lead guitarist for the duo Hall & Oates during the band's heyday from 1979 to 1985, playing on five number one singles. After Hall & Oates went i ...

– lead guitar on "Secrets" * Tony Thompson – drums on "Hard Woman" *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...

– backing vocals on "1/2 a Loaf" *

– guitar on "Lonely at the Top", acoustic guitar on "Hard Woman"

Production

*Mick Jagger – producer *Bill Laswell/Material – producer *Nile Rodgers – producer on "1/2 a Loaf", "Turn the Girl Loose" and "Secrets" *James Farber – engineer *

Dave Jerden Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with artists in various genres including alternative rock, punk rock and metal. However, Jerden has stated that he dislikes the term "producer", preferring to refer ...

– engineer *Bill Scheniman – engineer *

Peter Corriston Peter Corriston is a Grammy-award winning graphic designer currently based in Greenwich Village, notable for designing the album artwork for several major rock bands and musicians. Corriston has worked internationally with such artists as Billy Idol ...

– art direction, design *Erica Lennard – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1985 debut albums Albums produced by Bill Laswell Albums produced by Mick Jagger Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Atlantic Records albums Columbia Records albums Mick Jagger albums Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster