On this day (July 10) in 1965, The Rolling Stones went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” their first No. 1 in the country. Released in June 1965 in the United States as the second single from Out of Our Heads, the song stayed at No. 1 for four weeks and helped make the Stones one of the biggest bands in the world.
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In May 1965, The Rolling Stones were on tour in the United States. After a show in Clearwater, Florida, Keith Richards was sleeping soundly in his hotel room when he suddenly awoke, filled with inspiration. He had the line “Can’t get no satisfaction” and a guitar riff in his head. He pulled out his portable tape recorder and captured the lyric and the riff. Then, he went back to sleep. When he took the tape to the studio later that week, it contained the lyric, the iconic riff, and Richards’ snoring.
According to Songfacts, Mick Jagger wrote the rest of the song’s lyrics. He drew inspiration from what he saw as the two sides of American culture: the real and the fake. The song’s narrator is looking for authenticity but can’t find it because of the deluge of marketing present in nearly all forms of media in the country.
The Rolling Stones Found Worldwide Satisfaction with Their First U.S. No. 1
While the song was an almost overnight hit in the United States, it didn’t immediately take off in the United Kingdom. It originally only received airplay on pirate radio stations in the country. Censors initially believed the song’s lyrics were too sexually suggestive for wide radio play. However, things changed in the coming months, and it became the band’s fourth No. 1 in the UK.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” wasn’t just a huge hit for The Rolling Stones in the United States. It was an international hit, topping the charts in multiple countries. The legendary tune was No. 1 in Sweden, South Africa, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Austria, and Australia.
“It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band,” Mick Jagger said. “You always need one song. We weren’t American, and America was a big thing, and we always wanted to make it here. It was very impressive the way that song and the popularity of the band became a worldwide thing. It’s a signature tune, really,” he added. “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.”
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