Seven ages of rock - a history of rock music over the past 50 years

Rolling stones release "Satisfaction" in US

6 June 1965

The single begins with one of the most recognisable riffs in rock history. It apparently came to Keith Richards in a dream and Mick Jagger wrote the words inspired by the riff. He said later that his lyrics "were my view of the world, my frustration with everything."

It had taken a while for The Rolling Stones write their own material; up until this point they had only produced a series of reworked blues covers. "Satisfaction" was The Stones' coming of age, using their love and knowledge of the blues to express their own experiences: it was the moment that Rock and Roll became Rock. It scored them their first simultaneous number one in the UK and US and broke the band in America. The Rolling Stones were sending their own version of the blues back to the country it came from.