ABKCO RecordsToday marks the 50th anniversary of the release of The Rolling Stones‘ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which went on to become the band’s first #1 hit in the U.S. The song features arguably one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history, a five-note sequence that, according to legend, came to Keith Richards in the middle of the night while the band was on tour in the States.
As a press release from ABKCO Records explains, Richards immediately recorded the riff on a tape recorder he had in his hotel room that night, and then, after listening to it back, came up with the song’s title. Keith soon played the riff for Mick Jagger by the pool at the Gulf Motel in Clearwater, Florida, in early May 1965, and the singer immediately composed the lyrics.
The Rolling Stones recorded “Satisfaction” on May 12, 1965, at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California, after previously recording a version of the tune two days earlier at Chess Records in Chicago.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1965, and remained there for four straight weeks. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed “Satisfaction” at #2 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (#1 was Bob Dylan‘s “Like a Rolling Stone.”)
In honor of the song’s 50th anniversary, ABKCO Records will release a limited-edition, numbered 12-inch version of the single on 180-gram vinyl on July 10. The disc’s A-side will just feature “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” while the B-side will contain “The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man” and “The Spider and the Fly,” which were the songs that appeared on the respective flip sides of the original U.S. and U.K. “Satisfaction” single. All three songs were featured on The Rolling Stones’ Out of Our Heads album, which was released on July 30, 1965.
The new vinyl release will come housed in a sleeve featuring the same photo of The Stones that appeared in the original 1965 seven-inch single.
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