Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards Talks Success of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards initially did not like the Rolling Stones’ hit track “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The hitmaker and bandmate, Mick Jagger, recall co-writing the 1965 classic in the BBC documentary, My Life As A Rolling Stone. 

When the two penned the track in sunny Florida at a rundown motel, Jagger thought they had struck gold and created a smash hit. While Jagger’s predictions were strangely accurate, Richards assumed otherwise. 

“There’s this motel in Clearwater, Florida, and I remember sitting with Keith and writing the song ‘Satisfaction,’” shared Jagger. “[Then Manager] Andrew Oldham said, ‘This is like a No.1 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 No.1 like instantly.” 

Although the timeless track became the band’s first No.1 single in the United States and sat on top of the chart for four consecutive weeks in 1965, Richards admits that he went through the writing process “in his sleep.” 

“I wrote ‘Satisfaction’ in my sleep. I had no idea I’d written it. It’s only—thank God for the little Philips cassette player,” he claimed in his book. “The miracle being that I looked at the cassette player that morning, and I knew I’d put a brand-new tape in the previous night, and I saw it was the end. It was just a rough idea. There was just the bare bones of the song, and it didn’t have that noise, of course, because I was on acoustic… But the bare bones is all you need.”

The recipe for success? A “fuzz tone.” 

Richards believes that the musical element made from a Maestro Fuzzbox was a vital asset to the song. It alters the sound of a guitar and bass. Within his memoir, Life, Richards explains that no other artist or band took advantage of a fuzzbox.

“The fuzz tone had never been heard before anywhere,” wrote the guitarist. “And that’s the sound that caught everybody’s imagination. As far as I was concerned, that was just the dub. [But] ten days on the road, and it’s number one nationally. The record of the summer of ’65…I learned that lesson. Sometimes you can overwork things. Not everything’s designed for your taste and your taste alone.” 

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” became one of the most legendary rock songs of all time. When Dolly Parton was cultivating the tracksuit for her forthcoming Rock & Roll record, Rock Star, the electrifying hit scored a spot. 

While Parton tirelessly tried to get Jagger on board to sing on the track, the legend never committed. Parton will be joining forces with P!nk and Brandi Carlile to cover the Grammy-nominated single. Richards recently (April 29) appeared at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl. While the two didn’t sing “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” they tackled a chilling rendition of Billy Jo Shaver’s “Live Forever” and “We Had It All” from The Rolling Stones’ 1978 album, Some Girls. 

Photo by David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns