THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

77-Rolling Stones-(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

1965-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-0.01. At the 51st ‘Super Bowl’ in 2006 the Rolling Stones performed during the halftime show. Just prior to the band performing ‘I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ Mick Jagger quipped,’Here’s one we could have done at Super Bowl I.’

The Rolling Stones (see also best songs 933-662-452 and 160) were formed in London, England, in 1962, with the first stable line up consisting of Mick Jagger, (vocals) Brian Jones, (1942-1969) (multi instrumentalist) Keith Richards, (guitar) Bill Wyman, (bass) and Charlie Watts (1941-2021) (drums.) In total there have been eight different members come and go, with founding member Ian Stewart (1938-1985) (keyboards) removed in 1963 as he didn’t fit the bands image, although he did remain the groups road manager, and pianist until his death. In 1969 Mick Taylor replaced Brian Jones who had recently died, as a guitarist, and he stayed as a band member until 1974, and was then replaced by Ronnie Wood, (guitars) (see also best songs 565-160 and 70) who along with Jagger and Richards are the three official members of the group which remain active at the time of writing.

It was Brian Jones who named the band during a phone call with the music magazine ‘Jazz News.’ When he was put on the spot by a journalist who asked him what the band were called, Jones saw a Muddy Waters (see also best songs 596) LP lying on the floor, where he spotted that one of the tracks was called ‘Rollin’ Stone.’ Shortly after that on July 12th, 1962, the group played their first show together billed as the ‘Rollin’ Stones,’ at the ‘Marquee Club,’ in London. It was after that first gig that they changed their name to the ‘Rolling Stones.’ With sales in excess of 200 million records the Rolling Stones are one of the best selling artists of all time. Their discography includes 30 studio Albums released between 1964-2016, and 121 singles issued between 1963-2021, of which 45 had reached the UK top 40 singles chart, with eight of those making Number 1. While in America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the have reached the top 40 on 41 occasions, where they have also achieved eight Number 1 songs.

(‘I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ was co-written by Mick Jagger, who provided the lyrics, and Keith Richards who wrote the music, the song was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, who was also the bands manager at that time. The song was first released in America in June 1965, and gave the band their first American Number 1 single. In the UK, the track was issued around three months later, and provided the group with their fourth UK Number 1 hit. Keith Richards has stated that he awoke in the middle of the night with this songs riff in his head, he immediately recorded it with his acoustic guitar on to a ‘Philips’ cassette player, then went back to sleep.The lyrics written by Jagger are about sexual frustration, and commercialism, for example the line,’but he can’t be a man because he doesn’t smoke the same cigarettes as me,’ is a reference to the ‘Marlboro Cowboy,’ which was a figure used by the ‘Marlboro Tobacco Company’ to advertise cigarettes from 1955-1999. Another lyric,’baby, better come back maybe next week, can’t you see I’m on a losing streak,’ is a reference to menstruation. On the songs completion Keith Richards was not totally happy with all of the tracks instrumentation, as he felt it would benefit if a horn section was added, but he was overruled by his other band members, and Andrew Loog Oldham. Later in 1965 the American Soul legend Otis Redding (1941-1967) (see also best songs 712 and 377) recorded a version using a horn section which Richards fully endorsed. In a way the Rolling Stones had now come full circle, as they had started out as a white British R&B group playing black American Soul music, and now the American Soul artists were playing the songs of the Rolling Stones.

Mick Jagger has said,’It was this song that really made the Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band. It has a very catchy title. It has a very catchy guitar riff. It has a great guitar sound, which was original at that time, and it captures a spirit of the times, which is very important in those kinds of songs … Which was alienation. Or it’s a bit more than that, maybe, but a kind of sexual alienation. Alienation’s not quite the right word, but it’s one word that would do.’

‘When I’m ridin’ ’round the world, and I’m doin’ this and I’m signin’ that, and I’m tryin’ to make some girl, who tells me baby, better come back maybe next week can’t you see I’m on a losing streak?I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey.’