Excelsior, Minnesota: Bench for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Man

Mr. Jimmy, a town fixture, died in 2007, and this bench pays tribute. He's known chiefly for a story that Mick Jagger ran into him in a local drug store and based the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on the supposed 1964 encounter.

Address:: Water St., Excelsior, MN
Directions:: West of I-494 in the western Minneapolis suburbs. Turn on to Highway 7 until you see Excelsior on your right. The bench is on Water Street by the Chamber of Commerce, toward the lake end of the street.

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Bench for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Man

The bench is on the corner of Water St. and Second St. in front of Primp Boutique.

[Stacy Barnes, 07/09/2022]

Mr. Jimmy's bench.

Bench for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Man

Mr. Jimmy's Bench is located on the northwest corner of Water and Second Streets in Excelsior. It is in front of a women's clothing store called Primp.

[Jim Karsh, 07/09/2014]

Mr. Jimmy bench.

Mr. Jimmy's Bench

Excelsior was home to Jimmy "Mr. Jimmy" Hutmaker, a man who wandered downtown and hung out there every day, talking to everyone he met. He was a sort of ambassador to the town.

According to local legend, he was the inspiration for the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want." The Stones were in town playing the former Excelsior Amusement Park (sadly gone, with no traces left) when they stopped at Bacon Drugstore (in the song referred to as Excelsior Drugstore) because Mick Jagger needed to pick up a prescription and Jimmy was there. He complained to Jagger that he had ordered a cherry Coke, but got a regular one instead, but he sighed and said, "You can't always get what you want." Supposedly, this is where Jagger got the idea for the song. The lyrics seem to match up.

Anyway, Mr. Jimmy was very well-known around town, and everybody knew him. In 2004, the people of Excelsior began taking Jimmy, who had some unknown mental disability, downtown every day after his brother (who was his main caretaker) died and he moved to a nursing home. Around this time, this bench was dedicated to him in his favorite spot. He died in 2007, but his bench is still here, by the chamber of Commerce on Water St. It's a great spot to drink a Coke.

While you're in Excelsior, check out the tiny museum on Water Street that used to be a train station, and its trolley rides.

[Bailey Anderson, 03/30/2014]