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TL;DR:

  • The Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud” had to come together very fast.
  • Keith Richards revealed The Rolling Stones had to write new songs constantly.
  • He said artists who weren’t writing constantly were up a creek without a paddle.
The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and Mick Jagger in black-and-white
The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards and Mick Jagger | Michael Putland / Contributor

The Rolling Stones‘ “Get Off of My Cloud” came together really fast because the band was under a very specific pressure. Subsequently, Keith Richards discussed why the band was under so much pressure. He discussed why the band’s situation was ultimately beneficial.

The Rolling Stones’ ‘Get Off of My Cloud’ becmae the follow-up to ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’

According to the 2013 book 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of The Rolling Stones, Richards discussed the origin of “Get Off of My Cloud.” “I remember after ‘Satisfaction’ got to No. 1 — bang, bang at the door,” he said. “‘Where’s the follow-up?'” For context, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the band’s first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

“I mean, every 12 weeks you had to have another one ready,” he added. “The minute you put out a single, you had to start working your butt off on the next one, and the bigger the hit, the more pressure there was on the follow-up.” 

Keith Richards said The Rolling Stones constantly looked for inspiration for new songs

Richards praised the expectations placed on The Rolling Stones. “But it was an incredibly good school for songwriting in that you couldn’t piss around for months and months agonizing about the deeper meaning of this or that,” he said. “No matter what else you were doing, you had to make damn sure you didn’t let up on the writing.”

Richard revealed how this pressure affected him. “It made you search around and listen for ideas,” he revealed. “It made you very aware of what was going on around you, because you were looking for that song. It might come in a coffee shop, or it might come on the street or in a cab.” He said artists who weren’t writing constantly were up a creek without a paddle.

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How ‘Get Off of My Cloud’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Get Off of My Cloud” became a huge hit in the United States. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, staying on the chart for 12 weeks in total. The tune appeared on the compilation album Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The album lasted on the char for 99 weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports “Get Off of My Cloud” hit No. 1 in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The tune lasted on the chart for 12 weeks. Meanwhile, Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) reached No. 4 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 45 weeks.

“Get Off of My Cloud” came together fast and it paid off for The Rolling Stones.

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