One of the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time Belongs to 1971 Hit - And It Still Rocks
The Rolling Stones sit in the pantheon of iconic rock bands and produced a number of the biggest hits in rock history.
Among their classics was 1971 hit Can't You Hear Me Knocking, which sits at No. 29 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest guitar solos of all time.
"The defining moment of Mick Taylor's five-year stint in the Stones came about more or less by accident during the 1970 sessions for Sticky Fingers. 'We didn't even know they were still taping,' Keith Richards would later recall. 'We thought we'd finished,'" Rolling Stone wrote.
"Instead, the tape kept rolling to capture the fantastic groove odyssey that closes this song, with the 21-year-old young gun stretching out to Santana-ish dimensions. 'I like to think I added some extra spice,' Taylor said. 'Charlie [Watts] said I brought ‘finesse.' I'll go with what Charlie said.'"
Carlos Santana's Accidental Inspiration
The band was accidentally inspired by guitar icon Carlos Santana, as Taylor previously mentioned. Lead singer Mick Jagger expanded on his comments in a 2015 interview.
"We did this at Olympic, and the jam at the end was an afterthought," Jagger said in 2015. "It comes in two pieces. This rock song with this added jam. It's slightly Carlos Santana-like. Mick Taylor plays a bit of that style, I think. I don't think we meant that, but somehow it added on, and I think this was done really quickly, too. I remember very clearly doing it. It's very high for me, and I remember saying, ‘Oh, this is not really my key, but I'll try.' I did lots of harmonies to hide the fact I didn't really hit the notes that great in the chorus."
'Can't You Hear Me Knocking' Emerged Spontaneously
Keith Richards, who opens the song with his own riff, explained how it all came together.
In 2010, Richards wrote in his autobiography Life, via American Songwriter, "‘Can't You Hear Me Knocking' came out flying-I just found the tuning and the riff and started to swing it, and [drummer] Charlie [Watts] picked up on it just like that, and we're thinking, ‘Hey, this is some groove.' So it was smiles all around. For a guitar player it's no big deal to play-the chopping, staccato bursts of chords, very direct and spare."
The song sits on the album Sticky Fingers which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 69 weeks on the chart.
Related: One of the Greatest Drum Solos of All Time Belongs to 1969 Classic - And It Still Rocks
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 4:42 PM.