The Most and Least-Played Song Live Off 15 Rolling Stone Albums

At this point, it seems as though the Rolling Stones may have to be dragged off the stage – they’ve been performing live for so long audiences have practically watched them grow up from young, ambitious rock stars to seasoned touring musicians.

“When you go out in front of all those people you get an enormous rush of chemicals in your body — your own chemicals, not chemicals you’ve put in,” Mick Jagger joked in 2018. “Let’s face it, it is a huge buzz. Must be like playing football or something.”

With over 400 songs to their name, there’s plenty to choose from these days when the Stones craft their set lists. Of course, some tracks don’t see the light of day very often, and some have never been played at all. (Though for the purposes of this list, we’re writing about songs that have, at one point or another, made the set list.)

Using data from setlist.fm, we’ve pulled the most and least-played song live off of 15 albums by the Rolling Stones, listed in chronological order. Each of these albums, with their respective songs, have collected 300 plays or more.

Album: Aftermath (1966)
Most-played: “Paint It Black”
Least-played: “Doncha Bother Me”

This list is going to begin with 1966’s Aftermath, which is a crucial turning point in the Stones’ career given it was their first album to consist only of original songs. Over 50 years later, “Paint It Black,” which appeared on the U.S. edition of the album but not the U.K. one, has stood the test of time with over 450 live performances. Quite a few songs from Aftermath have never made a set list — tracks like “Flight 505,” “High and Dry” and “It’s Not Easy” from side two of the U.K. version — but “Doncha Bother Me” did manage to squeeze in two performances in 1966 when the band toured the U.S.

 

Album: Between the Buttons (1967)
Most-played: “Let’s Spend the Night Together”
Least-played: “She Smiled Sweetly”

Here’s the thing about having been in the music business for basically your entire life: the reality is that there’s a lot of early material you probably won’t touch, as is the case for many of the songs on 1967’s Between the Buttons. “She Smiled Sweetly” got exactly one live performance on Sept. 30, 2002 at the now defunct Roseland Ballroom in New York City, which fortunately someone recorded. On the other side of the spectrum, the upbeat “Let’s Spend the Night Together” has logged over 300 performances.

 

Album: Beggars Banquet (1968)
Most-played: “Sympathy for the Devil”
Least-played: “Parachute Woman”

It does make sense that “Sympathy for the Devil” would be the most-played song from Beggars Banquet – there’s something awfully fun about a whole stadium of fans singing the backing “woo! woo!” vocal part. There are three songs from this album that have never been played live: “Dear Doctor,” “Jigsaw Puzzle” and “Prodigal Son.” Meanwhile, “Parachute Woman” has gotten two plays — once for 1968’s The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus concert film, and once more in Boston in 2002.

 

Album: Let It Bleed (1969)
Most-played: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
Least-played: “Let It Bleed”

Here’s where things get slightly confusing. Technically speaking, the Rolling Stones have not played “Country Honk” from Let It Bleed live. They have, however, played the non-country version of the song, titled “Honky Tonk Women,” over one thousand times. The next least-played song then is the album’s title track with a little over 100 plays. The most-played, as you might have guessed, is the seven-minute, choir and french horn solo-including “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

 

Album: Sticky Fingers (1971)
Most-played: “Brown Sugar”
Least-played: “I Got the Blues”

The last time the Rolling Stones played “Brown Sugar” live was in 2019. The band decided to omit the song on their 2021 tour on account of lyrics that haven’t aged very well, to put it politely, and since then it has not been heard. There’s still plenty of other great songs from 1971’s Sticky Fingers, though, all of which have been played live at some point or another. “I Got the Blues” only has eight plays to its name though, perhaps because it’s a bit too languid. That’s the blues for you.

 

Album: Exile on Main St. (1972)
Most-played: “Tumbling Dice”
Least-played: Tie Between “Ventilator Blues” and “Sweet Black Angel”

A medal of some kind should be awarded to the person who recorded the one and only time the Stones performed “Ventilator Blues,” which took place in June of 1972 in Vancouver, Canada. According to Charlie Watts, the band always struggled to get the song right in live settings: “It’s a great track, but we never play it as well as the original. Something will not be quite right; either Keith [Richards] will play it a bit differently or I’ll do it wrong. It’s a fabulous number, but a bit of a tricky one.” The other song from Exile on Main St. that’s gotten one play is “Sweet Black Angel,” which also happened in June of 1972. At the top of the list is “Tumbling Dice,” which has consistently been included on set lists since it was released.

 

Album: Goats Head Soup (1973)
Most-played: “Angie”
Least-played: “100 Years Ago”

“Angie” served as the lead single to 1973’s Goats Head Soup, and since then it’s been a popular slower number at Stones concerts. And no, there is no real life Angie — it was simply a name that fit the mood and melody of the song. Nearly half of the songs from Goats Head Soup have never been played live: “Coming Down Again,” “Hide Your Love,” “Winter” and “Can You Hear the Music.” At just two logged performances is “100 Years Ago,” which Jagger had written two yeas prior and hadn’t gotten around to using.

 

Album: It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (1974)
Most-played: “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”
Least-played: “Dance Little Sister”

Like the previous album, It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll holds four songs that audiences have never been treated to: “Till the Next Goodbye,” “Time Waits for No One,” “If You Really Want to Be My Friend” and “Short and Curlies.” Maybe one day. “Dance Little Sister” only got three plays, but one of those got immortalized on the relatively recent 2022 live release El Mocambo 1977. Meanwhile, the album’s title track, “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (but I Like It),” has racked up over 800 plays, beginning in 1975 all the way up until the Stones’ most recent tour in 2024.

 

Album: Some Girls (1978)
Most-played: “Miss You”
Least-played: “Lies”

“Miss You” is another perfect example of a Stones song that you just can’t help “woo” along to. “Do ya feel like singing a little bit?” Jagger says in the clip below, and the audience’s answer is clearly yes. This is the most-played song from Some Girls, an album on which every single song has been played live at one point in the Stones’ tenure. “Lies” is the least-played with 20 performances, and in fact, it did not appear on any set lists after 1978, the year Some Girls was released.

 

Album: Emotional Rescue (1980)
Most-played: “She’s So Cold”
Least-played: “Dance Pt.1”

Only one half of 1980’s Emotional Rescue has been played live, which isn’t to say there isn’t still time…so if you are a fan of the following songs, we apologize: “Summer Romance,” “Send It to Me,” “Indian Girl,” “Where the Boys Go” and “Down in the Hole.” “Dance Pt. 1” holds the title then for least-played song at seven performances. Even the most-played number, “She’s So Cold,” only had 154 performances, which is small potatoes compared to other album tracks. But this makes some sense when one considers that the Stones did not tour in 1980 at all.

 

Album: Tattoo You (1981)
Most-played: “Start Me Up”
Least-played: “Tops”

Is there a more fitting choice than “Start Me Up” for a set opener? Debatable but probably not, which is particularly fortunate since the song was tossed aside during sessions for Emotional Rescue and nearly forgotten about. It sure would be hard to forget about it now that it’s claimed over 900 performances. Only three songs from Tattoo You haven’t been played live: “Slave,” “Heaven” and “No Use in Crying.” “Tops” only managed three plays, all in 1981, maybe because Mick Taylor, whose guitar work is featured in it, was no longer in the band by then.

 

Album: Steel Wheels (1989)
Most-played: “Slipping Away”
Least-played: “Blinded by Love”

The ’80s were somewhat challenging for the Rolling Stones, but by the time the end of the decade arrived, Jagger and Richards had patched things up enough to focus on songwriting and launching another tour. And when we say tour, we should be more specific and say the longest tour the band had ever been on up until that point. No pressure. On that Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour, the Stones only left out four songs from the album: “Hold on to Your Hat,” “Hearts for Sale,” “Continental Drift” and “Break the Spell.” The next least-played is “Blinded by Love,” which was performed twice in Spain and once in Portugal. At the top of the list is “Slipping Away,” a song that would continue to find a place on subsequent tour set lists.

 

Album: Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Most-played: “You Got Me Rocking”
Least-played: “Moon Is Up”

Only nine out of Voodoo Lounge‘s 15 songs have been played live. The album itself sold well, but failed to produce a Top 40 hit in America. “You Got Me Rocking,” the most-played song from it, did make it to No. 23 in the U.K. though, and it even managed to stick around on set lists for the Stones’ 2005–2006 A Bigger Bang Tour. Meanwhile at the low end, “Moon Is Up” got exactly one play in London in 1999 and has not been touched again.

 

Album: Bridges to Babylon (1997)
Most-played: “Out of Control”
Least-played: Tie Between “How Can I Stop,” “Low Down” and “Might as Well Get Juiced”

Three songs from Bridges to Babylon have yet to see a set list: “Gunface,” “Always Suffering” and “Too Tight.” The three least-played songs haven’t fared much better — “How Can I Stop,” “Low Down” and “Might as Well Get Juiced” each got just one performance. In 1997, the Stones embarked on an enormous tour in support of the album, but weirdly only included four of its songs into the set. One of those was “Out of Control,” which has logged just over 200 performances.

 

Album: A Bigger Bang (2005)
Most-played: “Rough Justice”
Least-played: “It Won’t Take Long”

Considering that A Bigger Bang boasts 16 tracks to its name, it’s understandable that only half of those have made set lists. At the top is “Rough Justice,” the LP’s opening track and one that Richards said came to him in a dream, or at least the guitar riff did. On the other hand, “It Won’t Take Long” got two plays, which isn’t a lot but is still more than zero.