The Rolling Stones ‘Behind the Song’: See Mick Jagger and Producer Andrew Watt’s Deep Dive on the Creation of ‘Mr. Charm’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Mick Jagger has spent the better part of six decades building a public persona defined by forward motion, a man who visibly bristles at the sepia-toned reverence that tends to surround rock royalty. In nearly every documentary chronicling the Rolling Stones' storied career, there's a familiar scene: the frontman, joined by the late drummer Charlie Watts, standing in the hallowed halls of Olympic Studios in London—the very room where some of their most iconic records took shape. But where others might lean into nostalgia, Jagger habitually punctures the moment with a dry, deflating quip, once memorably insisting that nobody cares about old recording sessions before grudgingly engaging with the memory. That relentless, forward-looking instinct has been his trademark for more than half a century.

That long-held resistance to hindsight has now finally given way. In a candid new episode of Variety's "Behind the Song" series, filmed at London's Metropolis Studios—a venue that has itself earned legendary status since its early-1970s founding, having hosted everyone from Queen to Amy Winehouse—Jagger sits down with producer Andrew Watt, the architect behind the band's two latest albums: 2023's "Hackney Diamonds" and the just-released "Foreign Tongues." Together, they dissect "Mr. Charm," a standout cut from the new record that, despite being only weeks old, already sounds like a seamless extension of the Stones' unmistakable sonic DNA. The resulting 15-minute feature offers an unusually transparent look at the collaborative engine behind rock's most durable institution, revealing creative dynamics that even the most devoted fans have rarely seen laid bare. It's the kind of behind-the-scenes access that feels less like a promotional exercise and more like an archival document in the making.

Watt and Jagger trace "Mr. Charm" from its raw beginnings—a simple guitar riff paired with a rough vocal sketch captured on Jagger's initial demo—through to the fully realized final arrangement. Keith Richards contributed chords that ultimately pushed Jagger's original riff aside, establishing the track's defining hook, while Ronnie Wood wove in his own complementary melodic response. Drummer Steve Jordan, who stepped into the fold following Charlie Watts' death in 2021, supplies an unrelenting, pile-driving rhythmic backbone that anchors the entire composition. Guest keyboardist Steve Winwood—whose relationship with the Stones stretches back an extraordinary six decades, all the way to his Spencer Davis Group days—adds a majestic B3 organ layer, while backing vocalist Naarai Jacobs delivers a wailing, almost primal intensity on the chorus that recalls the raw energy of "Gimme Shelter." Notably, it was the interviewer who first raised that iconic track, prompting Jagger to playfully needle journalists who insist on comparing every new release to half-century-old classics—a joke he later reprised at a press event.

Perhaps the most surprising revelation to surface from the session concerns the band's internal creative dynamics. Jagger confesses a counterintuitive truth: he, not Richards, gravitates toward punky, slashing guitar chords, while the band's actual guitarists prefer a more nuanced, polished touch. "I don't think Ronnie and Keith really like me doing it," he admits with an audible chuckle, "but I do it anyway!" The footage also isolates the individual guitar tracks from Richards and Wood, exposing what amounts to a musical dialogue—two instruments responding to one another like birds calling across a forest. Watt, visibly energized by the playback, marvels at the organic quality of their interplay, noting that such chemistry cannot be manufactured through overdubbing but emerges naturally from musicians playing live together on the studio floor, locking eyes and feeding off each other's energy. Jagger interjects with a laugh, "Doing my lick!" and the room dissolves into shared amusement. Experts in rock production have long argued that the Stones' enduring relevance hinges on this very dynamic—the unspoken telepathy between players who have spent decades in each other's company.

The conversation also ventures into the technical weeds of the recording process, including Richards' insistence on incorporating a "dirty-sounding, overdriven" acoustic guitar, inspired by the raw vibe of "Street Fighting Man." Winwood, meanwhile, contributed a set of congas originally gifted to him by Jimmy Miller—the legendary producer who first brought the Stones to prominence through his work with Winwood in Traffic and the Spencer Davis Group. As Jordan's driving drums lock in with maracas and those historic congas, Jagger reflects on the fundamental link between rhythm and movement. "It's connected with dance—the drums, the feet, and also the spitting out of the lyrics on a song like this, where you've got a lot of words coming at you very quickly and they've got to be in time." The video's most memorable moment arrives when Jagger physically demonstrates proper maraca technique by comically manipulating Watt's arms, recalling a lesson learned from a percussionist on an early Stones tour with Bo Diddley. It's an unfiltered, genuinely delightful glimpse into the mind of a rock icon—essential viewing for anyone curious about how the self-proclaimed "greatest rock and roll band in the world" continues to conjure musical alchemy after more than sixty years on the road. For a band often accused of living in the past, this session proves they're still very much in the present tense.