Quote Of The Day By Mick Jagger: 'I've Spent A Lot Of Time In ...'

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger may have grown up just under 20 miles out of London, but his legendary success allowed him to travel beyond any young British boy's wildest dreams. Born on July 26, 1943, in Dartford, England, his first musical venture was singing in the choir of his local church. Jagger's turbulent relationship with fellow Stones member, guitarist Keith Richards, began when they were schoolmates — although they lost contact until a chance encounter at a train station a decade later, by then in their teens. 

Jagger had always loved the blues, rock 'n' roll, and R&B, immersing himself in the London club scene where he and Richards connected with multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, drummer Charlie Watts, and bassist Bill Wyman. The Rolling Stones were born, swiftly making their presence known on the U.K. charts with covers in 1963, and releasing their first self-titled album a year later. Jagger's charismatic attitude and defiant stage presence enhanced the allure of the group, quickly forming a fanatic and widespread audience. Their first U.S. hit would be the iconic 1965 track, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," which maintained its top spot on the Billboard Top 100 for four consecutive weeks.

While 1969 is arguably the best year of their career, the Rolling Stones continued to wow audiences for over half a century later. It wasn't just the band, though — Jagger also made it to No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with his solo singles, "Just Another Night," in 1985 and again in 1993 with "Don't Tear Me Up." There will never be another rock star like Jagger, and that's why his is today's quote of the day.

"I've spent a lot of time in America in places that Americans have never ever been. I spend a lot of time in these weird places."

In a July 2026 interview with The New York Times following the release of the band's latest album, "Foreign Tongues," an 82-year-old Mick Jagger alluded to potentially political messages being sprinkled throughout "in small doses." Interviewer David Marchese recalled a lyric from one of the songs, "Divine Intervention," that described how "I looked up and saw the billionaires all scuttling/ Scrambling to their bolt holes in the sky, watch 'em fly!"

Although clearly critical of the current state of American society, Jagger asserts that it stems from his love of the country and his varying experiences throughout it. The quote of the day points out how a nation cannot be totally encompassed by its largest and most famous cities — and how, as an immigrant, even Jagger has noticed that Americans can sometimes be blind to the interests and struggles of their neighbors.

Mick Jagger has been all around the world — both as a solo artist and with his legendary band the Rolling Stones. Billboard estimates that the group has performed at least 2,000 concerts worldwide, with the total number of attendees racking up to more than 45 million fans. Jagger has also boasted an impressive real estate portfolio since the '70s, including a townhouse in the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he spent much of the '80s. Whether through his extensive touring or what his partner Melanie Hamrick described as their "just full nomad" lifestyle (via The Times), it's clear that the "Wild Horses" singer is constantly fed by different cultures and experiences. 

Jagger pointed out in his New York Times interview that many metropolitan Americans can tend to stay in their bubble,  remaining unexposed to some of the unique parts of the country that tend to be overlooked. Some of the Stones' most iconic tracks off of their 1971 record, "Sticky Fingers," were realized in the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama, and their hit "Honky Tonk Woman" is thought to be inspired by jazz bar Earnestine & Hazel's in Tennessee. Naturally, larger cities such as New York and LA played a massive role in the Stone's and Jagger's development as artists, but middle America was equally influential. 

Jagger's quote encourages us to explore more — visit a state you've never been to, stop at a local bar, talk to service workers, and connect with real people. You never know just where inspiration may blossom. 

• "That's how songs get made, when you're not thinking about anything else. While your mind is free and you're having fun with it, that's the most interesting part of the process..."

• "One's private or emotional life is not always a linear graph. It dips around. Things don't always go according to plan."

• "I forgot all my wisdom. I might have had a couple of pearls drop, but I've already forgotten what they are."

• "I'm hungry for new experiences, the same things that everyone else wants out of life. Thrills. New things. Continuations of relationships or new ones, all those mixed-up feelings that go towards making up a full emotional life."

• "We've cut up all our genres in little slices, but the reality is that most musicians appreciate all kinds of music. What I'm saying is that a lot of music has a lot of history, and intelligent people shouldn't be slicing it into little bits and saying, "I only like this bit." It doesn't mean anything."