Otis Redding's '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' — How a Soul Makeover Won Over the Stones

Otis Redding didn’t just cover the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” — he turned it inside out. While on tour in 1965, he heard the Stones’ version on a jukebox and, within hours, had his band at Stax sketch out a new arrangement. Gone were the fuzz guitar riff and Jagger’s sneer. Redding threw in a blaring horn section, a driving gospel rhythm, and turned the whole thing into a raw soul shout. He recorded it in a single take for his album Otis Blue, changing the song completely.

The Rolling Stones never asked Redding to stop. In fact, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were reportedly flattered — Richards later said Redding’s version “saved” the song for them, showing it had more depth than they’d realized. The Stones even started playing the song differently live,