“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was one of the earliest hits by The Rolling Stones. While the band had been ascending in popularity, this song cemented them as one of the world’s best rock n’ roll bands. The Rolling Stones knew they needed to follow up the song with another hit, and while they succeeded, Keith Richards wasn’t satisfied with that track.
‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ was The Rolling Stones’ first No. 1 hit in the U.S.
The Rolling Stones had been rising in popularity in the U.K. thanks to a few early hits, such as “I Wanna Be Your Man”. However, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, sent their stardom into the stratosphere. The track was first released as a single in 1965 and later included on the album Out of Our Heads. It was an immediate hit, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. singles chart.
A product of the songwriting partnership between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the pair wrote the song in a Florida motel. In the documentary, My Life as a Rolling Stone, Jagger said their manager knew the song would be a hit right after writing it, but Richards wasn’t as confident.
“There’s this motel in Clearwater, Florida, and I remember sitting with Keith and writing the song ‘Satisfaction’,” Jagger recalled. “[Our manager] Andrew Oldham said, ‘This is like a number one single, this is great!’ Keith was like, ‘I don’t really like it. It can’t come out as a single.’ And it went to number one like instantly. It was like a big moment; it became your signature tune, your cri de coeur, your sexuality, your controversy.”
Keith Richards didn’t like The Rolling Stones’ ‘Get Off of My Cloud’
“Get Off of My Cloud” was the first single released by The Rolling Stones after “Satisfaction”. The Stones said that the song is a response to all the media and fans asking for a follow-up to “Satisfaction”. In a 1971 interview shared by last.fm, Keith Richards said he was disappointed by the track, admitting The Rolling Stones rushed it out to appease the people demanding a new song.
“I never dug it as a record,” Richards said. “The chorus was a nice idea, but we rushed it as the follow-up. We were in L.A., and it was time for another single. But how do you follow-up “Satisfaction”?
He added that he wanted it to have a slower sound, saying the band “rocked it up.”
“Actually, what I wanted was to do it slow like a Lee Dorsey thing,” he continued. “We rocked it up. I thought it was one of Andrew Loog Oldham’s worst productions.”
‘Get Off of My Cloud’ knocked The Beatles off the top of the charts
While Keith Richards wasn’t a fan of “Get Off of My Cloud”, the 1965 track was still a massive success for The Rolling Stones. It reached No. 1 in the U.S. and the U.K. and peaked at either the top of the charts or at No. 2 in several other countries. The Stones were still riding high from the success of “Satisfaction”, and that carried over to their next single.
“Get Off of My Cloud” also knocked off The Beatles’ “Yesterday” from the top of the Billboard Hot 100. “Yesterday” was a big hit for their competitors, and the Stones managed to knock it off its throne after four weeks.
