The Rolling Stones: All Number 1 Songs Ranked Worst To Best
8. Miss You
US #1, UK #3, 1978
By the summer of 1978, the world had been taken over by disco music and many rock stars had unwillingly made the transition from certifiable hitmakers to legacy acts - the Stones themselves hadn't scored a chart-topper since 1973. In order to maintain relevance, Mick Jagger experimented with the genre du jour, with a little help from his friend Billy Preston. Miss You, a one-of-a-kind release for the band, was the result of said experiment. Bill Wyman came up with the riff, which was credited to the Jagger-Richards partnership as per usual, although Keith Richards not only had very little to do with the song but also publicly dismissed it.
In theory, Miss You had the potential to be a stain in the band's near-spotless career - the story always goes that whenever an artist conforms to whatever the hip new thing is, the result is subpar. Instead, the song accomplishes the rare feat of riding the mainstream wave without losing any of the bluesy charm that had made the Stones the legends that they were. It's one of the most understated disco songs ever, infectious but not over-the-top - which, sadly, also makes it one of the least danceable disco tunes there are. But, in classic Jagger style, harkening back to Honky Tonk Women, he laments over the loss of someone special without ever sounding desperate, something else that's hard to pull off.
The only problem with Miss You these days is its situational replay value. Certain songs are great for dancing to at the club, or for putting on in the background while you get work done. Some songs are great to sing along to, and others merely for tapping your fingers on the steering wheel to. Miss You falls into the latter category, not really holding up within the others.
Fun Fact: While the Stones would not hit number one again on either the US or the UK charts after Miss You, this song further cemented their hitmaker status, and they went on to release many global smashes afterwards, such as Emotional Rescue or Start Me Up.