Cocksucker Blues
Encyclopedia
Cocksucker Blues is an unreleased documentary film directed by the noted still photographer Robert Frank
chronicling The Rolling Stones
' North America
n tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St.
.
, with their not having visited there since the 1969 disaster at Altamont Free Concert, in which a fan was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angels
. Behind the scenes, the tour embodied debauchery, lewdness and hedonism
.
The film was shot cinéma vérité
, with several cameras available for anyone in the entourage to pick up and start shooting. This allowed the film's audience to witness backstage parties, drug use (Mick Jagger
is seen snorting cocaine
backstage), roadie and groupie
antics, and the Stones with their defenses down. One scene includes a groupie in a hotel room injecting heroin.
The provocative title notwithstanding, its nudity, needles and hedonism was incriminating enough to get the picture shelved, and this during a liberal climate that saw the likes of Cry Uncle!
, Deep Throat
, and Chafed Elbows
playing in neighborhood theaters. A generic performance film, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
, was released instead, and Cocksucker Blues was forever shelved.
However, bootleg DVD copies
of the film are available and the film may also be viewed on Youtube.
wrote to be the Stones' final single for Decca Records
as per their contract. The song is a parody of Dr. John
's "The Lonesome Guitar Strangler", released on his album Babylon the year before, however its context and language were chosen specifically to anger Decca executives. The track was refused by Decca, although promotional 12" singles of it were pressed in the US. It was only officially released later on a West German
compilation in 1983, although the compilation was discontinued and since re-released without the song.
's magnum opus
, Underworld
, is titled Cocksucker Blues, likely in homage to the Stones' song/film, which is referred to in the narrative of that section.
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
chronicling The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
.
Production
There was much anticipation for the band's arrival in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with their not having visited there since the 1969 disaster at Altamont Free Concert, in which a fan was stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
. Behind the scenes, the tour embodied debauchery, lewdness and hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
.
The film was shot cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
, with several cameras available for anyone in the entourage to pick up and start shooting. This allowed the film's audience to witness backstage parties, drug use (Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
is seen snorting cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
backstage), roadie and groupie
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
antics, and the Stones with their defenses down. One scene includes a groupie in a hotel room injecting heroin.
Fate
The film is under a court order which forbids it from being shown unless the director Robert Frank is physically present. This ruling stems from the conflict that arose when the band, who had commissioned the film, decided that its content was inappropriate and potentially embarrassing, and did not want it shown. Frank felt otherwise — hence the ruling.The provocative title notwithstanding, its nudity, needles and hedonism was incriminating enough to get the picture shelved, and this during a liberal climate that saw the likes of Cry Uncle!
Cry Uncle!
Cry Uncle! is a 1971 film in the Troma library. It is directed by John G. Avildsen and stars Allen Garfield. The story, based on the Michael Brett novel Lie A Little, Die A Little, follows the misadventures of a slobbish private detective who is hired by a millionaire to investigate a murder...
, Deep Throat
Deep Throat (film)
Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....
, and Chafed Elbows
Chafed Elbows
Chafed Elbows is a 1966 film directed by Robert Downey, Sr.A manic comic parody made for $12,000, Chafed Elbows was a commercial success that raised the flag of the underground film scene and elevated the good cause of bad taste. Downey photographed most of the movie with a still 35mm camera and...
playing in neighborhood theaters. A generic performance film, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is a concert movie featuring the British rock band The Rolling Stones that was first released in 1974...
, was released instead, and Cocksucker Blues was forever shelved.
However, bootleg DVD copies
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of the film are available and the film may also be viewed on Youtube.
Song
"Cocksucker Blues" was also the title of a Rolling Stones song, recorded in 1970, that Mick JaggerMick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
wrote to be the Stones' final single for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
as per their contract. The song is a parody of Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
's "The Lonesome Guitar Strangler", released on his album Babylon the year before, however its context and language were chosen specifically to anger Decca executives. The track was refused by Decca, although promotional 12" singles of it were pressed in the US. It was only officially released later on a West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
compilation in 1983, although the compilation was discontinued and since re-released without the song.
Cultural references
The fourth section of Don DeLilloDon DeLillo
Don DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
's magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
, Underworld
Underworld (DeLillo novel)
Underworld is a postmodern novel published in 1997 by Don DeLillo. It was nominated for the National Book Award, was a best-seller, and is one of DeLillo's better-known novels....
, is titled Cocksucker Blues, likely in homage to the Stones' song/film, which is referred to in the narrative of that section.