In the liner notes to the 1993 compilation album Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (on which it was included), Jagger said, "It's important to be somewhat influenced by what's going on around you and on the Some Girls album, I think we definitely became more aggressive because of the punk thing..." Recorded from October through December 1977, "Respectable" was originally written by Mick Jagger to be a slower song, but guitarist Richards saw the advantages of speeding up the tempo and crafting a rocker out of the song.

Jagger continued in the liner notes, "On ["Respectable"] I was banging out three chords incredibly loud on the electric guitar, which isn't always a wonderful idea but was fun here.

This is a punk meets Chuck Berry number..." This resulted in Jagger and Richards having arguments over the song's tempo.

[5] A memorable music video, which was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was made for the single, featuring a more "punk" Stones on display.

The Stones were joined on stage by John Mayer to play a live version during their 50 and Counting Tour on 13 December 2012 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.