George Harrison played guitar on many of the Beatles’ most famous songs. Despite this, George felt he couldn’t do a better riff than the riff of one of the Rolling Stones songs. While George seemed to have a mixed opinion of the Rolling Stones as a whole, he said one member of the group was incredibly talented.
What George Harrison thought of the Rolling Stones
From the book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Meetings, George was asked which modern artists he liked the most. George said there were so many, specifically naming Stevie Wonder, Ry Cooder and Dickie Betts as favorites. George was then asked if he liked the Rolling Stones. He has said several times that he thinks they are “good” and “nice”.
Even though George expressed mixed feelings about the Rolling Stones as a whole, he truly admired one band member: Keith Richards. “I think he’s a great rhythm guitarist, Keith,†he said.
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George Harrison really liked Keith Richards’ work on “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones
George explained his feelings about Richards. “You know, really, I think he’s probably one of the best rock’n’roll rhythm guitarists. I don’t think he’s very good at lead, but he played… that’s what you see, how I feel for Keith and me too, it’s not a comparison, but in a way , what we do is make records, and the records have good guitar parts, or have good songs, or good lyrics or whatever, but basically you make records.
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George liked Richards’ work in general, and the “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” riff in particular. “To me he’s not like a guitarist who just go out and play the guitar,†said George. “He writes songs, and he makes records and inside of that – you know, like, you can’t beat a riff for ‘Satisfaction’, you know what I mean? It’s simple little things like that, and I think he’s – you know, I love Keith a lot.
The way the world reacted to “(I can’t get) satisfaction”
George was probably not the only one who enjoyed “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction†by The Rolling Stones. The track remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks. For four of those weeks, the song was the most popular song in the United States. The song on the album Out of our heads. Out of our heads lasted 65 weeks on the Billboard 200, dropping three of those weeks at No.1.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction†was also popular in the UK. The Official Charts Company reports that the track reached number 1 in the UK, remaining on the charts for 12 weeks. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” remains a classic hit – and it even impressed George.
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