New Rolling Stones Doc Features Ten Minutes Of Cocksucker Blues
By Jeffrey Hyatt
To go along with the Rolling Stones reissue their 1972 masterpiece Exile On Main Street (w/ 10 unreleased tracks) on May 17, a whopping 10 minutes from the Rolling Stones’ infamous, unreleased documentary Cocksucker Blues will be part of a new, 30-minute documentary, Stones in Exile, which features rare, never-before-seen archival film, photos and interviews.
Directed by Robert Frank, Cocksucker Blues, commissioned by the Stones for their 1972 US tour, was banned by the band due to its racy, rock ‘n’ roll behavior.
Stones in Exile, directed by Stephen Kijak, tracks the making of Exile, and, along with footage from Cocksucker Blues, will include Ladies and Gentlemen… the Rolling Stones – put on the shelf and unreleased since 1974.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the film, Keith Richards said:
“I must not have noticed all the cameramen while I was making the record. I was amazed at how much footage they actually found.”
Cocksucker Blues was actually leaked online last year; originally a court order made it so the film can only be legally aired in public when director Frank is present at the screening. Really, it’s pretty raw where rock docs are concerned – lots of sex and drugs and… rock n’ roll. “Cocksucker Blues” was also the title of a Rolling Stones song, recorded in 1970; it’s worth seeking out.
Reporting on a screening of the film at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as part of the museum’s Robert Frank Film Series, Another RS story mentions, “an infamous scene where a roadie has sex with a reluctant-looking groupie on a plane while the band bangs on percussion instruments.”
Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, commenting on Cocksucker Blues, called it -
“…definitely one of the best movies about rock and roll I’ve ever seen. . . . It makes you think being a rock and roll star is one of the last things you’d ever want to do.”
The original 18-track, double-album Exile of was recorded in various stages at multiple locations, including Olympic Studios in London, Keith Richard’s mansion Nellcote in France, and in Los Angeles where the literal “Main Street” influenced the album title.
