DUTC#45 November 26, 2023

Feature Song: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

This is the last (maybe!) of my four-part mini series featuring Stones songs that began with DUTC#32 and “Sympathy For The Devil.” This time around it’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” a product of the Jagger and Richards songwriting partnership, featuring a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. Many critics consider that riff to be one of the greatest hooks of all time, and I would be hard-pressed to argue with that assessment. The song lyrics, as many have said, refer to both sexual tension and commercialism, an interesting combination to say the least.

The song was first released as a single in the United States in 1965 and was also featured on the American version of the group’s fourth studio album, Out Of Our Heads. It was a big hit, giving the Stones their first number one in the US. In the UK, the song initially was played exclusively on pirate radio stations, because the lyrics were considered too sexually suggestive. If you are scratching your head over this, you’re not alone. It would appear that not all the Puritans came to the US. However, it did go on to become their fourth number one in the United Kingdom. Although I am not a huge fan of grandiose claims, some have said that the song is one of the world’s most popular. It is No.31 on Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” And yes, I scrolled forever on that list just to let you know that the No.1 song is “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. You’re welcome.

The first time I heard the song I was fifteen years old, and I did not really pick up on the words “girl reaction” as interpreted by some listeners and radio programmers back in the day as meaning “a girl wanting to have sex.” Perhaps fifteen year-olds today are a bit savvier about that stuff than I was in 1965. Jagger’s reaction to that interpretation of those words was: “They didn’t understand the dirtiest line,” which is when the girl asks him to return the following week as she is “on a losing streak.” This was then interpreted as an “apparent reference to menstruation.” I’m fairly certain I didn’t know much about that either back then, as sex ed in schools didn’t really get going until the late 70s. Given all of this, it is a little surprising that when they performed this song on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966, they were not asked to change the lyrics. This was not always the case. The Stones appeared on the show 17 times between 1964 and 1969, and for their 1967 performance of “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” they were asked by Sullivan to change it to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together,” which is the way it was introduced by Sullivan, with Jagger replacing the “offensive” line as he sang. I watched that performance (January 15, 1967) and I remember to this day that towards the end of the song, Jagger belted out “let’s spend the night together,” and when the camera quickly panned to Mr. Sullivan stage left, he did not look very happy. I also remember cracking up when they showed his face. My parents, who were also watching, asked me what was so funny I said, “Ah nothing, I just thought of a joke!”

In keeping with the band’s British roots, the cover I have chosen is by Beverley Knight MBE (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March, 1973), an English singer, songwriter, actress, and radio personality. She performed the song live on Zoe Ball’s BBC 2 Breakfast Show, Nov.1, 2019 and, as far as I am concerned, she absolutely nails it and then some! In the room at the time of the performance as spectators were American actor Jeff Goldblum, and British actor and musician Himesh Patel. The expressions on Goldblum’s face alone during the performance are worth the price of admission. Knight released her first album, The B-Funk, in 1995. The album was heavily influenced by American soul music icons, such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, which are in plain view in her performance of this song. She has released eight studio albums and has been labeled as one of Britain’s greatest soul singers. After more than a decade in the music industry, Knight was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 in recognition of her contribution to British music. In keeping with the last Stones DUTC on “Paint It Black,” what follows are three versions from the Stones. First up, a live version from Ireland, 1965; followed by the original mono version from 1966, and another live version at the Glastonbury Music Festival near Pilton, Somerset, England on June 29, 2013, and the cover from Beverley Knight, November 1, 2019. Enjoy.

Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Liver version, Ireland 1965.

Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Mono version 1966.

Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Live at the Glastonbury Music Festival. Pilton, Somerset, England, June 29, 2013.

Beverley Knight. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” cover. Live from Zoe Ball’s BBC 2 Breakfast Show, November 1, 2019.

Los Angeles 2023