Rolling Stones – Claudine

You won’t find this song on one of their original studio albums. They recorded it for Some Girls but could not include this on that 1978 album because of legal issues. It’s a cool country-sounding song covering a grim subject. The song’s official release date was November 21, 2011. It appears as track number 1 on the 2011 deluxe edition of the Stone’s Some Girls album.

Claudine Longet: The Singer Who Killed Her Olympian Boyfriend

Claudine Longet and Spider Sabich

Claudine Longet was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich on March 21, 1976. At the trial, Longet claimed the gun discharged accidentally as Sabich was showing her how it worked. Throughout the whole court case, her former husband, the singer Andy Williams was by her side as she told her story.

 Sabich was one of the most well know American ski racers in the late 60s and early 70s. Claudine claimed that she was showing the gun to him when it went off.  She informed detectives that their relationship was under no duress. Friends of the couple said he was about to leave her at the time. Claudine Longet and Spider Sabich met in 1972. Claudine was a well-known French actress and singer…likely most famous for her marriage and subsequent divorce to Andy Williams. They were the Aspen celebrity couple.

Longet was only charged with a felony of reckless manslaughter which resulted in spending just a few weeks in jail, at her convenience. This was because she had children from her previous marriage and the judge didn’t want her to be away from her children for too long. With that, Longet spent most of her jail time over weekends. She took years to serve her sentence of 30 days.

Cocaine was alleged to have been found in her system, and details in her diary allegedly contradicted what she had told the police about her and Spider’s relationship. However, in a blow to the prosecution, the blood and diary were deemed inadmissible to the case because they were apprehended without a warrant.

At the time Saturday Night Live also got on board with this story with a skit called The Claudine Longet Invitational

You had the SNL announcers describing someone skiing down a hill and then…

Uh-oh! He seems to have been accidentally shot by Claudine Longet! Yes.. and I’m afraid Helmut Kindle is out of this race!

Longet’s lawyer wasn’t laughing, and he sent SNL a cease-and-desist letter. In the following week’s episode, the announcer Don Pardo read a statement on air…the show’s first public apology: “It is desirable to correct any misunderstanding that a suggestion was made that, in fact, a crime had been committed. The satire was fictitious and its intent only humorous. This is a statement of apology if the material was misinterpreted.”

Claudine is 80 years old now and stays out of the news.

Keith Richards: I wished, and I think all of us did at the time, that that should have been on the original album, but there was some legal difficulties and stuff. But otherwise, she was a perfect ‘Some Girl.’

Claudine Longet: He was my best friend

Claudine

Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again, Claudine

Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
She only does it at weekends
Claudine

Now only Spider knows for sure
But he ain’t talkin’ about it anymore
Isn’t it, Claudine?

There’s blood in the chalet
And blood in the snow
She washed her hands of the whole damn show
Claudine

She shot him once right through the head
She shot him twice right through the chest
The judge says ruled it was an accident Claudine
Accidents will happen

And Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again, Claudine

Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again, Claudine

Hey go baby
Go baby

Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again, Claudine
Oh Claudine
Oh Claudine
Oh Claudine

Now I threaten my wife with a gun
But I always leave the safety on
I recommend it, Claudine

Yea she pistol-whipped me once or twice
But she never tried to take my life
What do you think about that
Claudine

Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
She only does it at weekends Claudine

Oh Claudine
Oh Claudine
Oh Claudine

What about the children, Claudine?
Poor, poor children
You’re prettiest girl I ever seen
Only see you on the movie screen
Hope you don’t try to make a sacrifice of me Claudine
Don’t get
Don’t get too trigger happy with me Claudine
Itchy fingers

Yeah Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again Claudine

Yeah Claudine’s back in jail again
Claudine’s back in jail again Claudine
Uh uh Claudine
Poor, poor, poor Claudine

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

41 thoughts on “Rolling Stones – Claudine”

    1. I can see why though they ran into issues for that very reason. SNL got slapped pretty hard for what they did but…this would have been two years after. It would have fit well on that album.

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  7. Wow, what a story. Brand new song to me and quite the backstory. My dad was a bit of a skiing fan so I vaguely remember the name Spider Sabitch but never knew he was shot like that. I quite like that tune – including the bluntness of the lyrics. sounds a bit like a song that Johnny Cash would’ve done. did anyone ever explain what the legal problems were… seems like it should have been within their Freedom of Speech rights to sing it since factually it seemed correct, plus they never use her last name so theoretically it could be a fictitious story.

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    1. I only found out about the song after seeing the SNL skit on her and then I remembered it. I read about it and some article mentioned this song.
      Most people thought she was guilty at the time right? I was too young to really know…I just remember it.

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  10. Cool song, Max, which I don’t recall having heard before. The one thing that truly puzzles me is why didn’t the Stones change the name of the tune.

    I guess even a similar name like Pauline may have done the trick. Music artists do that all the time to conceal the identity of the real people in their songs.

    In my view, changing the name wouldn’t have taken much if anything away from the tune.

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  11. Good grief, this song shuffled on as I was cleaning out the ol’ garage the other day! I’d just thrown the phone on Random for half an hour; or however long it took me to give up on cleaning out that accumulated mess and turn around and close the door. Tomorrow is another good day for procrastinating. And I believe I mentioned this one recently? Odd.
    Great Stones number.
    Takeaways from the trial.
    1/ Slow down on the snow, Claudine.
    2/ Andy Williams, what a stand-up guy, standing by his ex-gal. Rumour was that the crooner of ‘Moon River’ footed the legal bills. What a chum- champ!
    3/ Claudine’s excuse; (Said in breathless little-girl french accent-) ‘Oooh judge, ze big ‘eavy gun, I ‘old it in my trembling hand, and she just go “Boom!” Quelle horreur!’
    4/ About the only thing I saw her on the big screen was ‘The Party’ with Peter Sellars in dark make up- how un-PC is that these days?- playing an Indian actor wreaking unintentional havoc at a Hollywood party. Blake Edwards has some nice jabs at the Hollywood hierarchy in this little film. There are some priceless set piece comedic bits in the first part of the film. But it does run out of puff at the end. (As did Sabich.)

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    1. Yes you did mention it. I was going to write about it a year ago or so and didn’t…when you brought it up…I thought…damn that is perfect. I just remember the story but not enough to know what was going on.

      The way I found out about the song was the SNL bit…I got the first 5 seasons and I remembered it and read about the story and that lead to the Stones.
      I cannot believe the judge…who had to be smittened… let her do her time on weekends!

      That sounds like a movie I would like… ” But it does run out of puff at the end. (As did Sabich.)” Well that goes into THE comment of the day!

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      1. I recall doing a full on screed of a comment about Claudines trial a few years back on a blog somewhere.
        The trial was a shambles, the cops and everyone cocked up the evidence- all very amateur hour.
        ‘The Party’ is a late 60s time capsule now; I recently saw ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ and wondered if Tarantino had seen this little Party movie, and might want to do his next twisted movie as, say, The Claudine Longet Story.’ (The Box Tops song ‘She Shot A Hole In My Soul’ would have to be first on THAT sound track!)

        Liked by 3 people

      2. I never realized how popular Sabich was at the time of the shooting…until I wrote this…I didn’t know he was American because of the name.
        I was watching a documentary of it and yea… it was a complete shambles. Them not using that evidence would be a big reason she got off with 30 days.
        ” ‘She Shot A Hole In My Soul’ ” Yep…you have won the internet twice today!

        Liked by 2 people

  17. Another bit of history I totally missed/forgot. I *do* vaguely remember that SNL skit though so it must be in the forgotten category. Do you remember The Andy Williams show and their annual Christmas special? So strange that Andy and Claudine’s happy union fell apart and she started snorting coke with a ski star. Always the glitzy facade with the sordid undercover reality. I can see them playing around with a handgun, all coked up, and it going off accidentally. Manslaughter would have been fitting charge and conviction. Too bad the investigators poisoned the evidence tree. 30 days, served over years? :::SMH:::

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    1. I remember the headlines but at 9 I didn’t really get the story. I do remember the Andy Williams shows and him while growing up.
      It was a mess…the investigators really did mess up the scene.
      I watched the SNL a few years ago and it brought the headlines back to me. I had to find out about it then and found the Stones song.

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  19. Pingback: Rolling Stones – Claudine – MobsterTiger

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