Skip to main content

TL;DR:

  • The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” features a member of the Plastic Ono Band.
  • The member of the Plastic Ono Band explained what happens when The Rolling Stones play songs.
  • He discussed what he thought about “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” in retrospect.
The Rolling Stones on a floor
The Rolling Stones | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

The Rolling Stones‘ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” featured instrumentation from a member of the Plastic Ono Band. The musician discussed what he thought about The Rolling Stones as a band. In addition, he said he didn’t know he was being recorded when he played on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.”

A member of the Plastic Ono Band felt The Rolling Stones are unique

Bobby Keys was a saxophonist who was part of the Plastic Ono Band. He also repeatedly worked with The Rolling Stones. During a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, he discussed his feelings regarding The Rolling Stones.

“I’ve played in bands with A-team players around,” he said. “But unless they can play together, it doesn’t do any good. And you can take guys who may not stand on their own up against a bunch of individuals they might be compared to, but you put ’em together, man, and they are unique unto themselves in a way that no one else can touch.”

Bobby Keys put The Rolling Stones’ ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ on the same level as ‘Brown Sugar’

During a 2012 interview with Relix, Keys was asked to name his favorite tunes from his career. Off the top of his head, he named “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” by John Lennon and “Brown Sugar” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” by The Rolling Stones.

“The Stones had brought in [percussionist] Rocky Dijon that night to play congas on ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,'” he added. “I’d been jamming with him, but I got the vibe that there wasn’t going to be any horns on that song, so I was just sitting there, listening.

“When the song ended, Rocky and Mick Taylor kept on playing — I knew they were jamming, so I grabbed my horn and jumped in,” he added. “It was completely off the cuff, man: It was written as it was being played. I didn’t know they were recording the damn thing, but I’m really glad they did!”

How the song and its parent album performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the classic album Sticky Fingers. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks, staying on the chart for 69 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” never charted in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Sticky Fingers reached No. 1 in the U.K. for five weeks. In total, the album spent 32 weeks.

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is a classic album track and it Keys helped make it a classic.

Best in Entertainment