Half a century ago in the summer of 1965 a 3-note guitar riff quite literally rocked the pants off the world. Keith Richards, who would later on be known as the master of guitar riffs, laid down the rough version of the revered riff in a short hypnogogic acoustic self jam session prior to snoring through the night. We all must thank the prescience of recording the riff or who knows if the fuzz tone rock n’ roll staple would have made its mark on music.
It is odd that “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones is 50 years old this year, and it is always strange going way back in time to see what graced the Billboard Charts back before the moon landing. The song’s sheer awesomeness speaks to its staying power. Everything from the negative concord of a title line to Jagger’s angst-laden vocals to Richards’ repetitive riff to the persistent percussion that drives the song helps create a tremendous song.
The song, which plays off of commercialism and sexual frustration, was ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine as the 2nd best song of all time and has been added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. It might be the most recognizable song to come out of the 60s, and in many ways it represented a quasi-microcosm of the time period and the youth generation of the time.
All in all, the song’s efficacy comes back to that simple 3-note riff that evokes everything one loves in music, and for that, it is no surprise that 50 years later, “Satisfaction” is still rocking.
The Music Court 
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