🎵 The Rolling Stones - Mother's Little Helper REACTION

[@classiclife7204]

The Stones got in trouble for this - they got in trouble for everything - because they pointed out the hypocrisy of long-haired youth getting busted for possessing pot while little old ladies and sweet moms were walking around with their heads blasted on tranquilizers and amphetamine diet pills. One of their best songs.

[@kjmorley]

It’s amazing now to think how much cannabis was vilified in the 60’s-70’s. When it was finally legalized here, I grew a plant and was kind of astounded at how anticlimactic it was. People spent years in jail… for this?

[@kenhoyer8601]

Along with martinis etc. I used to ask my mother why it's ok to get buzzed from liquor and not pot. They would say it was a gateway drug. The gateway to me was their liquor cabinet.

[@classiclife7204]

@@kjmorley Indeed. Makes you think it wasn't really about law and order per se, but rather a way to control certain elements of the population.

[@indexer69]

@@kjmorley People still are in jail for this, mostly poor minorities, thanks to Biden's 1994 Crime Bill.

[@KelsaRavenlock]

The pharma companies did not have a giant stockpile of pot left over from the war, they did though have a massive supply of amphetamines hence the wild popularity of prescribing it for weight lose and attention deficit disorders.

[@thefoss5387]

"Little Yellow Pills" were 5mg Valium (diazepam), a wayyyyy over-prescribed anti-anxiety drug that was patented in 1959. It was prescribed for many perceived problems, including anxiety, sedation for sleep, high blood pressure, or even to just appease an patient with anger management issues. The weird stringed instrument that played after every verse was a sitar.

[@andrewyoung2796]

Bite your tongue. I could use a. " yellow submarine" now.. Build up a tolerance quick tho

[@jonathanross149]

The generic name is tranquilizers

[@thefoss5387]

@@jonathanross149 The generic name for Valium is diazepam. Tranquilizers, are a broader description of this group, which which have benzodiazepines, barbituates, haloperidol, and others.

[@keef7224]

Actually… “That's a twelve-string [guitar] with a slide on it. It's played slightly Oriental-ish. The track just needed something to make it twang. Otherwise, the song was quite vaudeville in a way. I wanted to add some nice bite to it.” - Keith Richards on "Mother's Little Helper", 2002 Sounds kind of like a sitar, but it isn’t.

[@debjorgo]

@@thefoss5387 I don't think he meant 'generic' as the term for a non-brand name drug. I think he meant it as the "catch-all' term for the pills of the ilk. But yeah. Mick's talking about valium. It gives you that drowsy, "better not drive" feeling. (So I've heard.)

[@cathyhall1350]

Aaah.. mother's little helper! It's a valium and they still come in yellow 🟡💛

[@joangordoneieio]

Mothers Little Helpers were Valiums. I remember my best friend's mom passing them out like candy at the church before her wedding. We were so shocked cause these were the same mom's ranting about the evils of Marijuana!😀😀😀

[@alanmaddison4835]

This happened a lot late 1970's. Many house wives traded pills. Seconals were red, placidyls were green. Trials were like this 💊 but blue and red. So whenever you went to a neighbors, first thing you do is go the medicine cabinet and steal a couple pills.

[@lindaaugone382]

@@alanmaddison4835 My brother had a feeling his buddy was going thru Med cabinet so the next time he planted marbles in there before his visit and what a way to get caught !

[@slkinia]

Certainly the valiums et al were abused by many. But they weren't hallucinogenic, and their normal use was not a threat. The ranting moms you referenced weren't wrong & they weren't being hypocritical. Marijuana is generally abused as a matter of course (i.e., abuse is normal), and it's possible for habitual users to get residual highs up to 2 or 3 weeks after their last hit. The abusers of tranquilizers and the normal users of marijuana share the problem of trying to avoid dealing with reality.

[@batman1169]

@@lindaaugone382 everybody has a marble story and med cabinet. Lol

[@lindaaugone382]

@@batman1169 How about offering a glasss of water an filling it with toilet water? Ive seen this bettween 2 guys

[@jasonremy1627]

According to Mick Jagger, the session pianist they worked with, Jack Nitszche, used to get Valium from one of the recording engineer's wives, and that's the inspiration for the song.

[@Johnny_Socko]

That IS a fun fact! Jack Nitszche's name is in tons of movies from the 70s & 80s as the music composer.

[@JulioLeonFandinho]

Jack Nitszche is one legendary producer and arranger, worked with everybody from back in the day and improved everything he was involved in

[@carcarjinks1430]

it's about VALIUM - a popular tranquilizer in the 60's and 70's. lots of women were addicted to it. the 5 mg dosage was a round yellow pill with ROCHE 5 imprinted on it.

[@Jessica_Roth]

Roche made a sick amount of $$$/£££ off of it, IIRC. Roche also created Rohypnol ("Roofies"), so they're just making the world a better place all around. Sigh.

[@carcarjinks1430]

@@Jessica_Roth after the tranquilizer craze ended, along came SSRI's. (murder pills) SSRI's are even more dangerous because they turn people into unfeeling zombies with suicidal/homicidal impulses. the popularity of SSRI's closely mirrors the rise in mass shootings, starting in the late 1980's.

[@Pemberley78]

Yup!! I remember my mother taking the blue 10 mg. version. Good times. 😳🇨🇦

[@nathanharris4105]

I got a Valium the night before I had my wisdom teeth removed. Best night's sleep I ever had.

[@justtere]

My dad, as he doled out these and others to my mother called them her eggs as he gave her her pills in the morning.

[@andrewbrennan7291]

Astonishingly mature lyrics from this band at a time when they were in their early to mid-20s.

[@NeverGiddy]

Exactly what I would have said.

[@ericsierra-franco7802]

It's the Stones!

[@827dusty]

The early music catalogue of The Stones is so good. Everyone focuses on the stuff they did in the 70s, and I get it, but when you go back to the early days of the Band, the music they played, inspired the Bands and artists of the 70s and 80s, and beyond. Their music between 1964 and 19 69 is amazing, and you see the Band evolve as the years pass. Thanks

[@crazydale1000]

The 5mg Valium was one of my favorites back on the day.

[@davidsimpson5225]

Fantastic song with great lyrics from the young Rolling Stones

[@easyrolling]

All the different versions of the Stones over the years were affected by not only the times but the musicians in the group at the time & this era of the Stones had 2 very important things that were not there later on.. that is bass player Bill Wyman & multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones.. Jones brought a different element to them & always wonder if he would have lived, how much of a difference he would have made to future sounds.. We will never know, as he died before the 70's arrived. But he was built for the 60's and was a major part of this song & most of the early songs . with his musical excellence.. This song was the follow -up single to Paint It Black and continued with the dark side of life.. Great review .. So many more wonderful songs from them to go from every era.

[@michelleplombe7019]

Like Pink Floyd losing Syd Barrett .. somehow just as great but different .. a certain outside of the box spirit in both cases.

[@crosswalkguy435]

I would like to hear what you guys think a week or so after reading all of the comments on your reactions. I am curious to hear how you react to the explanations/answers to the questions and musings you have on the songs...

[@davidbordonaro1631]

I've wondered , and asked , that myself

[@DerEchteBold]

You don't really assume they're actually reading the comments?! Some people with similar channnels may do that for a short while after a new video is online but these two put out five every day and they have hundreds of comments on each in a matter of hours.

[@justinatest9456]

This is actually a great idea. These guys seem to actually listen to some of this music on their own time, they enjoy it, and it's become something more than just a song they listen to once for a video. So to have them go back on a song they actually found interesting and learn more about it is something they might find enlightening. This would also give them content of their own, that they can monetize without fear of it being taken down. The fans would also find it entertaining, to see our favourite songs get some more attention. Some songs absolutely deserve a deeper look.

[@MsPrincesspaulina]

@Brad & Lex: You've come a long way in your musical knowledge journey. Comparing this to other bands of the era is a step that I don't think you could have made at the start of your channel. Well done. Keep learning.

[@kennethjenkins3972]

I believe they are talking about middle class mothers taking a lot of Valium back in the day

[@donnastupka7507]

That's exactly what they were talking about! Lol😁

[@johnotero62]

Blues and yellows 😉

[@alrivers2297]

@@johnotero62 baseball players used to take greenies

[@theghostofthomasjenkins9643]

middle class women have always been hypocrites.

[@michaelmelling9333]

I think there was something called Darvons back then, too.

[@larannar123]

Doctors back in the 60s and 70s were handing out Valium to housewives like it was Skittles!! Prescribed to relieve stress and anxiety, both my mom and Aunt Ruby got seriously addicted before quitting cold turkey... They came in different colors for dosage in yellow, pink ,and blue.. My mom took yellow and my aunt took the pink ones. 💊💊💊

[@ArmandoMPR]

Great social commentary here! The Jagger-Richards songwriting team is perhaps the best in popular music history. Certainly up there with Dylan and Lennon-McCartney.

[@andrewbrennan7291]

Very true.

[@sarleywinkle]

I think the sitar sounds like the world when you’re on mother’s little helper.

[@josevi5835]

True. Jagger is the best songwriter ever. Stones lyrics are underrated but unbeatable. Listen to Sister Morphine, Simpathy for the Devil...

[@simplenough]

Those 2 plus Morrissey Marr are the best uk duos

[@davidjennings1771]

Halcion was the little yellow pill - depressant tranquilizer - careful, it's addictive! The B-side of the 45-rpm record is Lady Jane. Both are on The Aftermath Album, their fourth album! Summer of 1966.

[@surlechapeau]

Brad & Lex, you’ll love their “Wild Horses” and “Its Only Rock ‘n Roll” !! Lex, you won’t need any little yellow pills! You have enough energy for 3 people!

[@manuelmdemarco]

they already did honky tonk women

[@mansonmydog]

714 Lemon Quaaludes !!!

[@donnadubyak6504]

Lots of speed and valium in medicine cabinets when I was a kid.

[@bierce716]

"Mother's Little Helper" was Miltown, a tranquilizer pulled from widespread use not long after the song came out because side effects.The pill would let you get through the day, still functioning more or less, but being a total zombie, feeling nothing- no frustration, no pain, no sorrow.

[@rickdaniels1789]

Perfect. Where can I get mine?😄

[@MarcoNegrisEye]

You sure they aren't an amphetamine? Yellows? I only know of yellows and blues from Quadrophenia being the pills the Mods took to stay buzzed at all nighters.

[@Tijuanabill]

@@rickdaniels1789 In the 1950s. 😎😎

[@joangordoneieio]

No. Equinal was taken off the market in 1965. This tune came out in 1966. They were referring to Valium. My dad was prescribed them for sleep after his heart attack.

[@thefoss5387]

Old Pharmacist here...Miltown was off-white, Equinal was white, as I recall, 5mg Valium (diazepam), however, was yellow (2mg was white and 10mg was blue).

[@AliasMark69]

"Dr PLEASE some more of these, outside the door, she took four more, what a drag it is getting old"..... Some of the best lyrics ever written.

[@rubbersole79]

You had to love the early Stones. One of the first bands unafraid to go to the dark side.

[@Jessica_Roth]

A breakthough in a number of ways: this and "19th Nervous Breakdown" were key steps in the Stones going deeper with lyrics than just "I want sex". (Which, don't get me wrong, was a number of great songs.) And musically, this is their first step towards psychadelic and Eastern influences…we don't get to "Paint It, Black" or "She's a Rainbow" without this. A classic. Glad you liked it.

[@justinatest9456]

Another perfect set of lyrics, right up there with Sympathy For The Devil.

[@williamweiss6128]

Great, timeless classic.

[@chrisstratton4569]

Valium, it's what's for dinner. ;)

[@theknitter5643]

Clever lyrics. Loving this tune

[@THEDEEPDIVE]

Great social commentary and an amazing fuzzy sharp backdrop for it.

[@atuuschaaw]

Truth through music! Great social commentary of the times. ♥

[@DanStrayer]

Cream and Jefferson Airplane is a very good call: trippy indeed. Always found the sound of this tune hypnotic.

[@eeengineer8851]

I first heard this in about 1985. Had a cassette tape of rolling stones greatest hits played in my car commuting to/from college back when. Not into such things at age 19 but knew what this was about! The video you are watching looks brilliant to match the song!

[@douglasmijangos3327]

Dam that’s a fire ass song .. I love that song so much .. I think I seen a video of Keith Richards saying that he added the little guitar riff right before they finished the song .. he felt the song needed something and I think it adds so much to the song 🔥

[@pilesovinyl]

This was 1966...1966!!! They were laying it all out there about drugs when everyone was just singing about love and fast cars...I was only 11 years old and it made me take notice-"hey these guys are saying something serious here." Really a significant song. That was sitar, an Indian instrument.

[@Beatles4Sale.]

My favorite Stones song…Ever! ❤️❤️❤️

[@richard_n]

Another incredibly written and performed song by the Stones. They were just one of the few bands in history who were on a totally different level than anyone else.

[@1967PONTIACGTO]

1965 to 1966 is my favourite era for the Stones.... other great songs from this era include 19th Nervous Breakdown, Ruby Tuesday, Get Off My Cloud, and Let's Spend the Night Together

[@sjw5797]

The trippy instrument is a sitar, a traditional Indian stringed instrument. Ravi Shankar was a master of the sitar, and he helped to popularize it during the sixties, when the Indian subcontinent became a "thing" with hippies. The sitar is a difficult instrument, but Brian Jones, who was lead guitarist of the Stones at this time, learned to play it pretty well, and George Harrison of The Beatles featured it in several Beatles songs, like the super-trippy "Tomorrow Never Knows".

[@joelkeidannsilva8167]

i love this CHANNEL !!!!congratulations !!!

[@lancecason]

Its lyrics deal with the popularity of prescribed tranquilizers like Valium among housewives and the potential hazards of overdose or addiction. Recorded in December 1965, it was first released in the United Kingdom as the opening track of the band's April 1966 album, Aftermath.

[@billy9497able]

Yo! I have literally been waiting years for someone to react to this! Thank you a million times.

[@john81473]

This is a great song! Love the Stones! Brian Jones plays the sitar in this song.

[@John_Locke_108]

Is it? I thought he used an electric guitar to imitate a sitar. I think Paint It Black was the first time he used the sitar.

[@straycatttt2766]

Note the Indian sitar driving the rhythm of this song. Original Stones musician Brian Jones played sitar. He and Beatle George Harrison popularized the sitar in the late 1960’s.

[@JAMESMOORE-gq4vv]

Love these Rolling Stones lyric videos.

[@jmweed1861]

This is my Favorite Stones song outside of Paint It Black....play it on my 8 track tape player in my 1966 Chevelle SS all the time.... Mother is basically taking "Speed" to get through the day,..

[@davescurry69]

Well spotted Brad. "Mother's Little Helper" and "Paint It, Black" were both part of the sessions that produced the Stones 1966 album AFTERMATH. "Paint It, Black" was the standalone single. Back then usually the singles weren't on the albums.

[@shellydagel9228]

The Rolling Stones are Legend!!

[@UnexpectedTurnOfEvents]

Reminds me of my mom, OD'ed and sprawled under the kitchen table when I got up on Easter morning when I was 7 y.o. The broom laying next to her on the floor, a chair laying on its side... I don't think I'll ever forget that scene, and decades later this song still immediately floods my mind with that memory and brings tears to my eyes. Not only my mother popped Valium like candy, but she also gave it to her girlfriends. It was really common among women back then.

[@cazgerald9471]

Little yellow pill was Valium. Doctors used to prescribe Valium in the 60s as sleeping aids and/or stress relievers. They also prescribed amphetamine as diet pills.

[@d-2793]

Great reaction to a great song!

[@flea1683]

Convinced me to try valium when I was 11, there was a drawer full in our house. The yellow ones were 5mg the blue ones 10mg. School was a lot more relaxing.

[@vovindequasahi]

I love this song.... Those lyrics... hahahaaha!!

[@jeffmartin1026]

I'd love to see Mick sing those lines now. The song also reflects the cynicism of parents being worried about kids drinking/doing drugs.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Everyone has something they use to help them get through the day. Valium, Oxy Condone, Booze, Weed, Xanex, you name it.

[@jimbrentar]

Valium was the most popular of these little pills, but many tranquilizers (and amphetamines) were easily available on prescription from a compliant Doctor. Things have changed since then.

[@jrepka01]

Meprobamate, or Miltown, was a common tranquilizer that began in the 40s as an antipsychotic given to mental patients that became popular among the middle class by the mid 1950s. It was a "little yellow pill" that eased stress and tension and at one point it accounted for a third of all prescriptions written in the US. By the mid-60s many other drugs had come along that weren't quite as addictive and so its popularity declined.

[@armadillotoe]

It was Prince Valium.

[@deeg8849]

Brian adding touches - Stones were never better

[@MisterWondrous]

I was assuming they were referring to "yellow jackets", which were a type of speed, like "black beauties". Strong coffee will do the same thing. That said, I never had a clue that that was what the song was about. I've heard it hundreds of times but thanks to your show, I now know the words and what it is about. My respect for them is growing with each new level of understanding. Peace and love. db

[@aspringwind]

This was my favorite song of all time, when it was released. Pop music took a huge turn.

[@NeonNights80]

Check out their country song, Far Away Eyes 👀 Or the song Some Girls. Both are off their 1978 album Some Girls

[@eximusic]

In the 60s and 70s housewives commonly took valium. It was popular for doctors to prescribe them back then. Kids used to steal them for their own high.

[@RobinHartJones]

In the 60s doctors started prescribing tranquilisers for every woman complaining of stress or tiredness and they became addicted to them. That was true both in the UK and the USA. At the time the Rolling Stones were one of the only bands writing songs about the real world and the problems people faced rather than just saying everything is groovy and we all love each other. This goes alongside songs such as 'Standing In The Shadows' and '19th Nervous Breakdown'

[@JAMESMOORE-gq4vv]

All our parents were on them in the 70's, 5 yellow V's & a quart of beer, 30 minutes later, ya hoo.

[@michaelfrazer8088]

Momma was not the only one using them

[@mikemiller3069]

"Ether pills"? 😂 Who brings them, the Ether Bunny? 🤣

[@kathybwell]

My mom took valiums to handle me and my wild siblings. But she didn't drink, so there's that.

[@derjogderjog8031]

The Stones were not scared to sing about anything...Good for them...I love them...

[@michaelkearney2186]

While the Beatles were writing love songs, the Stones wrote about pill-popping suburban moms LOL

[@armadillotoe]

In the 70s doctors handed out valium like popcorn.

[@alexshkoditch4593]

Tranquilizers. "They're so hard to satisfy, you can tranquilize your mind".

[@SteveAFCLondon]

Apart from " Under My Thumb " my favourite Stones track.

[@shannonbennett987]

"What a drag it is getting old." Well, the Stones should have a whole new perspective of this song now, don't ya think? Die young or get old. That's life! Good reaction y'all.

[@joanndowers5080]

Medication to get you moving. Lol. Everyone needs Mother's Little Helper. ❤

[@darrenmichon92]

Its was about Valium... 5 MG. We're yellow.... in the day I can remember 2 of my friends mother's being on the little yellow pill....

[@AW11-e4h]

The greatest Rock N Roll band ever 🤘🤘

[@Oldschoolnana]

They were talking about tranquilizers.😂😂

[@dimedraweriv258]

Although I'm more of a Mick Taylor era Stones guy I have to admit that Jones in 66-68 contributed some great stuff. His playing really stands out in stuff like Mother's Little Helper , Under My Thumb , and Paint It Black. I think he'd became bored with the traditional guitar. He was the best musician in the group in many ways he was just not a very good human being and a far too gone addict. When you're the worst addict in the Stones that says a lot.

[@Paula-ch8rc]

I love this song so much 😍❤️

[@leemcclements8889]

It's about tranquilizers.They were a popular choice of pills back in the 60's .My mom had a bottle of those little yellow pills....

[@sabrinamassie5606]

I was the oldest of 6 kids ... and my Mom took full advantage of "mother's little helper" ... In her defense, doctors over-prescribed Valium without warning of addiction ... But while she was floating happily through her busy day ... I was busting my ass with 5 siblings. I'm not really complaining, I learned more as "mother's little helper" than I did in school. It is what it is !

[@oldeskoolnana7543]

Tranquilizers so mom could deal with a boring life.

[@tonkatoy3636]

Maestro Fresh Wes - Let Your Backbone Slide

[@nitegoat1369]

The drug they’re referring to, is called ’Miltown’ or ‘Meprobamate’. The drug, which had the unique property of relaxing users while keeping them awake and alert, was classified as a tranquilizer.

[@adamharris3520]

Not my favorite band but I absolutely love this song…so strange and yet melodic at the same time 😊

[@rosa32]

Vallium. I needed one of those today. 4 kids in 5 years. I'm not crazy, I've got twins. It's still the school holidays.😩

[@andrewsteinberg7103]

good luck getting them today as only prescribed by Psyches for severe anxiety

[@kenhenderson1762]

The instrument that Lex was wondering about was an electrified sitar, played by Brian Jones.

[@eugenesouza3819]

Valium, Valium was the drug all doctors prescribed to mothers back in the 60's

[@thseed7]

Mother's little helper was Valium. A sedative used to treat anxiety, seizures and alcohol withdrawal.

[@luciusmalou4906]

And then there was "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds, about the same time. It wasn't really about drugs but everyone thought it was due to the surreal sound and lyrics. 🎵

[@jasonremy1627]

Great, early Stones song!

[@Buses2Bikes]

The sales of valium quadrupled after this song hit the airwaves.

[@michaelt.b264]

Paint it, Black and Mother's Little Helper are from the same album Aftermath '66

[@dominicpelle7841]

The Girl With Faaaarrrraway Eyes... 🤩

[@DanaTheInsane]

The little yellow pill is a 5 mg Valium. I just took three of them before my dentist appointment today. It is definitely Valium.

[@douglasmijangos3327]

Try to listen to the song a few times .. I bet after listening to that song for a while you can’t not sing “ Doctor pleeeeeease some more of theeeeese outside the doooooooor she took four mooooore “ 😂 I could be doing anything and I’ll stop to sing along 😂

[@jedward3529]

They came in white, yellow and blue. As a teen I would steal some of my mother's little helpers.

[@jedward3529]

I was just thinking the same thing.

[@jedward3529]

me did also.

[@davidsweet9163]

It also a Play on words. A mother's little helper was a kid

[@jeffreygabbard6192]

Im always too late to the chat but, one of th÷ least known but best Stones tunes >s "We Love you" 🥰

[@bannedagain.8334]

Doctors dished out ant depressants on an industrial scale back in the sixtys & seventy s.

[@galenstone9097]

great song. Valium was pretty popular back in the day.