When it comes to songwriting, no formula is guaranteed to work. Artists can work tirelessly on their craft without receiving any compensation. On rare occasions, however, a hit can appear seemingly out of nowhere, as Keith Richards discovered with the birth of one classic Rolling Stones song.
Keith Richards, a guitarist, has worked tirelessly since he was a child to improve his skills on the instrument, which essentially serves as an extra limb for him. In one instance, music became such an inescapable thought that still follows him even while he’s sleeping. It fortuitously laid the first building block in place to create ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.
The riff for the famous Stones song appeared to him in a dream midway through his deep sleep. It seems too unbelievable to be true, but this isn’t a work of fiction. Fortunately, the guitarist had a Phillips cassette player near his bedside. He was able to record the magical piece of music rather than letting it float away while he was half asleep.
“It was just a rough idea,” Richards recalled in his autobiography, Life. There was only the bare bones of the song. And it didn’t have that noise because I was playing acoustic… “However, the bare bones are all you need.”
Those “bare bones” quickly grew into an entire song, which helped define The Rolling Stones’ career. While they’d previously had hits, ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ took them to a whole new level of success that they’d never known before. The song would never have existed if it hadn’t been for Richards’ dream.
However, Jagger revealed in the BBC documentary My Life as a Rolling Stone that Richards did not want the song to be released as a single. “I remember sitting in this motel in Clearwater, Florida, with Keith and writing the song ‘Satisfaction.'” ‘This is like a number one single, this is great!’ said [our manager] Andrew Oldham. ‘I don’t like it,’ Keith said. It can’t come out as a single.’ And it went to number one like instantly,” he gleefully recalled.
Although Richards initially opposed the release of ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ he quickly changed his mind. His feelings about the racetrack are now completely positive. Richards told GQ in 2020 when asked if he still hears songs in his dreams, “How I Wish.” That was the most fantastic, lucky song I’ve ever heard. No, I’ve never had another dream in the middle of the night.”
“But that was very early in my writing career, and the thought that that could happen was incredible.” “You know, I’m still waiting for the next dream,” Richards added.
He is still waiting for the next hit single to appear in a dream. Richards can be content with the stroke of luck that came his way in 1965 when one of the most iconic riffs of all time fell from the sky into his mind.
