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Happy Birthday, Mick Jagger! Song of the Day for July 26

Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during their "Hackney Diamonds" tour stop at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena on Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Ridgedale, Mo. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
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Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during their "Hackney Diamonds" tour stop at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena on Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Ridgedale, Mo. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

Happy birthday to Mick Jagger. He turns 81 today, though his body acts 50 years younger. He was born July 26, 1943.

Don’t bother waiting for a Jagger memoir. He said he received a bucket of money to write one in the 1980s but found it so torturous he quit writing and returned the money. When he was asked in 2014 about writing his life story, he said to look it up on Wikipedia

Jagger grew up outside of London. He was smart enough to attend the prestigious London School of Economics. He was 17 when he reconnected with his childhood friend Keith Richards after bumping into him at a railway station.

They discovered they both loved the blues. One thing led to another, and they formed the Rolling Stones. They rivaled the Beatles during the 1960s, but, unlike the Beatles, they never broke up. They are celebrating 62 years together and still touring.

Jagger’s relationship with the band has lasted longer than his relationships with women. He has eight children, ranging from ages eight to 52, with five women. His longest relationship was with model Jerry Hall. They were together 22 years though they never officially married. His newest girlfriend, and the mother of his youngest child, Melanie Hamrick, is 15 years younger than his oldest child.

Jagger, during his breaks from the band, has recorded four solo albums. The Song of the Day, “Just Another Night,” was his first single from his first solo album, She's the Boss, in 1985. He called the album a 1980s dance record.

He was going for something “left of the mainstream.” That was an accurate description. The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.