Mother's Little Helper


"Mother's Little Helper" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track to the United Kingdom version of their 1966 album Aftermath. It was released as a single in the United States and peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1966.
The song deals with the sudden popularity of prescribed calming drugs among housewives, and the potential hazards of overdose or addiction. The drug in question is variously assumed to be meprobamate or diazepam.

Writing and recording

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Mother's Little Helper" was recorded at the RCA Records studios in Hollywood, California, in March 1966. According to the music historian Nicholas Schaffner, Jagger demonstrates "his crudest irony" on "Aftermaths most overt 'drug song'" … at a time when the adult media were beginning to rant about teenage drug abuse". Schaffner goes on to say "the Stones retaliated by zeroing in on all those harried middle-aged housewives incapable of getting through the day, or getting to sleep at night, without the help of their legally prescribed 'little yellow pills.'"
The song begins with the line that is also heard as the last line in the repeated bridge section:
Toward the end of the song, the mothers are warned:
The song is based around folksy chords and an eastern-flavoured guitar riff sounding like a sitar, but is a dual-slide riff played on two electric 12-string guitars by Brian Jones and Keith Richards. Keith Richards has noted that the ending of the song was the idea of Bill Wyman, who also contributed a powerful and distinctive bass riff.

Reception and legacy

"Mother's Little Helper" peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966. The single's B-side, "Lady Jane", reached number 24.
Of the song's mainstream impact, John Mendelsohn of PopMatters writes that, "In pointing out the hypocrisy of a culture that tut-tuts rockers for recreational drug use while actively endorsing and prescribing mind-altering drugs to housewives, the Rolling Stones effectively cemented their reputation as a subversive cultural force."
In 2005, American singer-songwriter Liz Phair covered "Mother's Little Helper" for the soundtrack album Music from and Inspired by Desperate Housewives.

Personnel