Iconic Opening Guitar Riff From One of the 'Greatest Rock Songs of All Time' Was Perfected 61 Years Ago

61 years ago during the evening of May 6th, 1965, guitarist Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones was fast asleep at home in his flat in Carlton Hill. Richards heard a melody in a dream, briefly woke up, recorded the riff on cassette, and promptly went back to bed. He'd later finding the tape contained just about 30 seconds of the riff and almost an hour of himself snoring. That fateful tape would morph into what is largely considered to be one of the best hooks in rock history in the number one Stones song, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

Richards has said of the bizarre story and circumstances, "Without knowing it, in the middle of the night, I'd woken up, picked up the guitar which I quite often slept with. So anyway, it was one of those rare nights when I was actually alone, and obviously I'd recorded about 15 seconds of 'Satisfaction.'"

"Satisfaction" opens with the iconic and memorable riff by Richards, and was released as a single and later was included on their albumb Out of Our Heads. "Satisfaction" was released as a single in the US on June 4th, 1965, and would go on to chart on Billboard the following week on June 12th. It would remain on the chart for 14 weeks and held the number one spot for four of them. This would mark the first number one hit for the Stones in America.

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Popular covers of "Satisfaction" include versions by Otis Redding, Britney Spears, DEVO, and Dolly Parton.

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The song "Satisfaction" is largely considered to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time, with Rolling Stone listing it at number two. It was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2006 with the song being called, "a classic of rock 'n' roll." Indisputably, "Satisfaction" is acclaimed within the music industry. "Satisfaction" is a complete staple within the Stones' vast catalog of songs and has been played at every tour since its release in 1965.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM.