Mick Jagger wrote the song on an electric piano and from the beginning it was sung in
falsetto (similar to the
Bee Gees' disco tracks or
Marvin Gaye's lead vocal on his 1977 hit "
Got to Give It Up"). When the song was brought into the studio they kept the electric piano and falsetto lead. With
Ronnie Wood on bass and
Charlie Watts on drums they worked out the song. They then added the
saxophone part played by
Bobby Keys. Bass guitarist
Bill Wyman plays
synthesizer on the record, while Jagger and
Ian Stewart play
electric piano. Wyman's synthesizer can be heard faintly during the verses on the right channel/speaker and plays a simple pattern of a few notes using a string-synth set up. Jagger said the song was about "a girl who's in some sort of manhood problems", not that she was going crazy but she's "just a little bit screwed up and he wants to be the one to help her out".
Cash Box said that it was influenced by the music of "
Curtis Mayfield and
the Impressions,
Thom Bell and (on the UK side)
Eric Burdon," but is brought up-to-date by the "heavy beat."
Record World said that "Jagger sings falsetto and street talks while the band cooks a raw, funky dance mix." Despite touring extensively since the song's release in 1980, the Stones had never performed the track in concert until May 3, 2013, when the band debuted the song in their set list with a slightly different arrangement, during the first show of the 2013 leg of the
50 & Counting... tour, in Los Angeles, California. ==Music video==