The Rolling Stones Went Full Drag for 'Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?' — and It Freaked Everyone Out

The single’s US picture sleeve featured the band dressed as women: wigs, makeup, dresses, the works. Brian Jones even wore a nurse’s uniform. The idea came from photographer Jerry Schatzberg, who wanted to play with androgyny and the “shadow” theme. The Stones went along with it, but when the sleeve hit stores, many radio stations refused to display it, and some record retailers hid it under the counter. It was 1966, and cross-dressing rock stars were not yet a thing.

The band also shot a promotional film for the song — but instead of drag, they performed in a stark black-and-white studio, with a weird, jerky slow-motion effect. The film was directed by Peter Whitehead, who had the Stones lip-sync at half speed, then printed the footage at normal speed, creating a dreamy, almost violent feel. It was one of the earliest examples of that technique in a music video.

On top of all that, the single was released on both mono and stereo versions, and the US issue had a different B-side (“Who’s Driving Your Plane?”) than the UK one. The whole campaign felt like a deliberate attempt to unsettle people — and it worked. The song only reached No. 5 in the UK and No. 9 in the US, a disappointment after the #1 streak of “Paint It Black” and “19th Nervous Breakdown.”