Beloved actor David Duchovny, who is known as the star of the hit shows The X-Files and Californication, has recently disclosed his favorite Rolling Stones songs of all time. Duchovny may be known as an actor, but he is also a musician who released his debut album, Hell or High Water, on May 12, 2015.
In an interview with Louder Sound in 2019, Duchovny revealed that while he is a huge fan of Al Green and The Beatles, the Rollings Stones will always have a special place in his heart. The actor told the outlet that his very favorite Rolling Stones songs happen to be “Wild Horses” and “Gimme Shelter.”
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“It’s just a great marriage of feeling and melody, a perfect song with a beautiful image in the middle of it. It just works: a great lost love song, and the music just suits. And it’s beautifully produced. The percussion is great, the lead guitar in the middle is great, and Jagger’s vocals are great,” Duchovny said of “Wild Horses,” which was featured on the Rolling Stones’ 1971 album, Sticky Fingers.
“The words are really good, but kind of hard to understand at times, which is something I love about The Stones. You can make out half their words. Like most of these songs, it’s from a time when you have a soundtrack to your life,” Duchovny added. “When you’re younger, songs are more important.”
Duchovny then discussed Gimme Shelter, which was included on the classic band’s 1969 album, Let It Bleed. “Amazing background vocals. And again, lyrically, I’m not exactly sure I know what’s going on, but I get the sense, and it’s just a great, impressionistic portrait of a time in history when I was just a kid,” Duchovny stated.
“I saw the film 20 Feet From Stardom, where Merry Clayton tells the story of being asked to do the vocal,” Duchovny continued. “She was awakened in the middle of the night to come down and sing it, and that’s the way greatness can sometimes happen. Sometimes you’ve got to plan for it, and sometimes it just happens. Because you’re lucky. Because you’re in the right place.”
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