Written by: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
Released: 1965
US Charts: #1 (4 weeks)
UK Charts: #1 (2 weeks)
Other Charts: N/A
It doesn’t come as a surprise that one of the most acclaimed songs of all time has possibly the most recognizable guitar riff in music history. From the word go, the sound of the opening guitar riff stabs every listener in the head, taking them back to the 1960′s and putting them in a state of rebellious behaviour. “Satisfaction” is synonymous with the 60s and captures the anti-establishment sentiment from the period better than any other song I know. It’s no wonder that Rolling Stone magazine placed this song in second spot in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The guitar riff is the one element that makes this song the great and memorable song it is today. And the story behind its creation is legendary. The Stones’ lead guitarist Keith Richards claims that he came up with the guitar riff in his sleep one night, waking up, recording it with a cassette recorder along with the words “I can’t get no satisfaction” and then went back to sleep. Jagger and Richards then finished writing the song in the Florida hotel in May 1965.
The song was released a month later to both critical and commercial success. It became their fourth number one song in the UK and their first in the US. Mick Jagger went on to say that “it was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band.” It has gone to become the Rolling Stones’ signature song, despite having other hits during their long 40 year career.
The song’s success is largely to the fact that the song was perceived to be about anti-commercialism and alienation in the 1960′s. It captured this sentiment very, very well transforming it into possibly “the song” of the decade. Even though I was born decades after the swinging 60s, simply listening to this song gives a good and vivid taste of the sentiment back then. And I hope it does the same for you. Enjoy!
Lyrics can be accessed here.
Chords can be accessed here.
Feel free to comment on this song and/or my review below.
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