In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in the second spot on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The song was even added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2006. How's that for a cornerstone piece of rock 'n roll history?
"Satisfaction" was released as a single in the US by London Records on June 6, 1965, and entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts in America in the week ending June 12, 1965, remaining there for 14 weeks. The song itself is a true masterpiece from the Rolling Stones and perfectly accentuates their arrival to American - and global for that matter - music relevance. Not to say that their previous material was lackluster, but "Satisfaction" had something different about it that made the gritty, dirty feel of the Rolling Stones more widely accepted and accessible to all tastes in music.
Keith Richards - credited for writing the song itself - came up with the opening riff that was originally supposed to be replaced with brass instruments and now, his lick is perhaps one of the most recognizable in all of music history. "Satisfaction" became an overnight sensation and it gave the Stones their first number one hit in the US. In the UK, the song initially was played only on pirate radio stations, because its lyrics were considered too sexually suggestive. It later became the Stones' fourth number one hit in the UK.
Musically, the song opens with the guitar riff, which is joined by the bass halfway through. It is repeated three times with the drums and acoustic guitar before the vocal enters with the line: "I can't get no satisfaction". The key is E major, but with the 3rd and 7th occasionally lowered, creating - in the first part of the verses ("I can't get no...") - a distinctive mellow sound. The accompanying chords (i.e. E major, D major and A major) are borrowed from the E mixolydian scale, which is often used in blues and rock.
All in all, despite what you think about the lyrical content (and believe me, there's far worse songs to listen to - just turn on any modern rap channel), "Satisfaction" stakes its claim as one of the best, and most influential, rock 'n roll songs that ultimately drove the creation of new bands as several bands that followed claimed "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones as one of their main influences.
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