The Rolling Stones: 'Honky Tonk Women' Drum Intro & Groove

"Honky Tonk Women", by The Rolling Stones, was a 1969 hit song released as a single on July 4, 1969 in the UK and a week later in the USA. The song topped the music charts in both nations. The band actually recorded two versions of the song; I'll be explaining and transcribing drum/percussion parts from the popular 45 single version.

Upon listening to the original recording, notice that the song begins with an eight-bar introduction — the cowbell and drums start, NOT the guitar riff (for all of your crazed guitarist friends). The first measure of the intro is cowbell, which was performed by producer Jimmy Miller, followed by a short drum fill in the second, played by Charlie Watts. The cowbell and drums groove for an additional two measures before the guitars enter.

Before I go further, let me discuss the cowbell sound, technique employed and written notation.

The cowbell used on "Honky Tonk Women" is small, sounding something like a 7-inch steel cowbell. If you want to go for an authentic sound but want an instrument that is more diverse, you could use the LP204A Black Beauty or something similar that would commonly be used in cha-cha-cha. What you would not want is a large mambo style cowbell — you certainly could use any cowbell you want or own — the vast majority of the general public won't know the difference.

Hand-held cowbell, which is how the instrument was originally played (and how it is played on this recording), is held with the open-end (ie. mouth) of the bell pointing away from the performer. The bell is traditionally struck with a large wooden dowel, the butt-end of a drumstick, or a single clavé. Since the cowbell is held in one hand while being struck with the other, the hand holding the cowbell can also dampen the resonance of the instrument. Varying degrees of dampening/muffling can be achieved by lightly touching the fingers or or by gripping the body of the cowbell. Depending on the playing position (eg. sitting or standing), the cowbell can also be dampened by allowing the instrument to come in contact with the performer's torso or leg.

The cowbell has two basic playing areas which provide a distinct sound. The first (A) is when the cowbell is struck on the edge near the open-end (mouth). The second (B) is when the cowbell is struck on the top side, towards the closed-end — back or center of the instrument. Many other sounds can be achieved simply by altering where/how the cowbell is struct. A different beating apparatus will also change the sound. In the case of "Honky Tonk Women", the cowbell is being played with a drumstick. The shoulder of the drumstick is used when playing the mouth of the cowbell (A), and the tip of the drumstick is used when playing on the top (B). As you will see in my notation below, I designate an A or B for each cowbell stroke type. Open strokes (no dampening) are notated with an o above the note; muted strokes (dampened/muffled) are notated with a + above the note.

The drum fill, which occurs in the second measure of the introduction of the tune, is very simple and straight forward. Upon listening to Charlie's performance, you will notice that the placement of the second and third notes (snare and tom tom) in the fill sound squished together — opposed to playing a straight sixteenth-note and eighth-note. It has a uniqueness to it that does work, but you'll have to decide how you approach the fill in your own performances.

The drums begin to play time in the third bar of the introduction and continue with the same groove throughout the verses of "Honky Tonk Women". Here is that groove:

The groove during the chorus of the tune is different than the verse groove. There are several variations and embellishments to the groove throughout the choruses as the song progresses. During the guitar solo and towards the end of the song, Charlie implements the verse groove at times ... basically having the kick drum outline the melodic rhythm in the vocals. Here is the basic beat used in the choruses:

If you want to generate the same feel that Charlie Watts performed, there are few things to pay attention to. First, all of the hi-hat strokes are basically equal in volume, creating what I call an 8/8 feel — no accentuation of the pulse or downbeats. Secondly, the snare drum backbeats are not rimshots or extremely heavy sounding. Lastly, no crash cymbals! Well, Charlie does play a crash twice — one after the opening fill and another at the very end of the tune — that is it.

To notate and transcribe the entire drum performance would not prove to be very beneficial, in my opinion, so I won't be doing that. If you learn the verse and chorus grooves, you've got it — just play what you feel and hear in the moment — that's what Charlie Watts did.

In a live performance setting, you may be in a situation where there is no one available to play the cowbell part ... or perhaps you simply don't want the one available rhythmic challenged individual to attempt the task. Whatever the case, I want to explain how one player (that is you) can actually perform both the drum and cowbell parts together. It takes some coordination and set-up planning, but it is possible to execute ... not to mention a lot of fun.

It can be assumed that one of your hands is going to be given the task of playing the cowbell part. Whether it is your right or left makes no difference; it all depends on your coordination, what you feel comfortable with, and the set-up you choose to use. Obviously the cowbell needs to be positioned in location that will allow for easy access to the instrument by the hand playing the part. Note, if you don't own or want to use a cowbell, you could substitute it by playing on the bell of your ride cymbal.

Option One

The first approach is to have one hand play the hi-hat and snare drum while the other hand covers the cowbell part. If you use this option it means you will be leaving out the hi-hat every time you strike the snare. This is definitely my preferred approach when playing this song — Charlie Watts is known for leaving the hi-hat out when striking the snare drum; it is his signature sound. So this approach not only meets our needs as the one player covering two parts, but it also gives us an authentic Rolling Stone/Charlie Watts sound. I should mention, however, that on the original recording of "Honky Tonk Women", Charile does not drop the hi-hat on the backbeats.

Option Two

A second approach would be the employment of 4-way coordination, using the left foot on the hi-hat pedal to play the straight eighth-note hi-hat part. This frees the hands to play the cowbell and snare drum; one had on each instrument. The sound is going to be slightly different but you will have that 8/8 hi-hat feel.

The final decision is really up to you. Take the approach that serves you best, but do work on all of the options. The knowledge and coordination you'll gain is well worth your time.