4 Covers of “Satisfaction” That Gave the Rolling Stones a Run for Their Money

Nobody does “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” like The Rolling Stones. That being said, quite a few musicians have lent their take on the iconic rock song… and almost blew The Rolling Stones out of the water. Some of these covers of “Satisfaction” are stark divergences from the source material, while others are dedicated covers that came out beautifully. Let’s take a look!

1. Aretha Franklin

That stunning voice, that powerful control? Who doesn’t love Aretha Franklin? She knew how to take an already beautiful song and turn it into something even more powerful, and that much is clear on her cover of “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones. This cover is often compared to Otis Redding’s cover of the song, which also happens to be on this list. But we think Franklin’s rendition is one of a kind.

2. Bjork and PJ Harvey

Out of all the “Satisfaction” covers you’ll find, this one is about as outside of the box as it gets. Nobody expected these two avant-rock superstars to cover this Rolling Stones classic, but that’s exactly what they did back in 1994. It’s the kind of performance that you just need to experience yourself; describing it wouldn’t do it justice.

3. Devo

Devo’s cover of “Satisfaction” is probably the most famous of the covers on this list. And there’s a good reason for that. These new wave icons took a legendary rock song and applied their unique vision to it with excellent results. Brian Eno mixed the cover for their debut album, and the rest was history. Allegedly, Mick Jagger loved their rendition, too.

4. Otis Redding

Famed soul singer/songwriter Otis Redding once covered “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones for the 1965 album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul. It’s not exactly shocking that his cover is so stunning. The Rolling Stones would be the first to admit that their music was heavily inspired by the blues. 

Fun fact: Redding confessed that he made up some of the lyrics for his cover because he didn’t feel like memorizing the actual words. According to Steve Cropper, Redding “just didn’t know the song” but proceeded to deliver an impressive cover anyway.

Photo by JMEnternational/Getty Images

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