On this day (November 6) in 1965, the Rolling Stones topped the Hot 100 with “Get Off of My Cloud.” It dethroned “Yesterday” by the Beatles, which had been at No. 1 for four consecutive weeks. No one was more surprised to see the single become a major hit than the band. They wrote the song as a two-finger salute to their label after being hounded for a followup to their previous No. 1, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
The Rolling Stones found early chart success in the United Kingdom. Their debut single, “Come On,” reached No. 21. “I Wanna Be Your Man” climbed higher, peaking at No. 12. Their third single, “Not Fade Away,” was their first international chart hit. However, it failed to break into the top 40 on the Hot 100, despite being a No. 3 hit across the pond.
They started making major waves in 1965. “The Last Time” was their first No. 1 at home and first top 10 hit in the United States. “Satisfaction” followed and it was a global sensation. The band was on top of the world. However, their label wanted them to immediately replicate that success. “Get Off of My Cloud” was their response.
The Rolling Stones React to Industry Pressure
The Rolling Stones wrote “Get Off of My Cloud” out of frustration. Keith Richards said the song was “basically a response to people knocking on our door asking us for the follow-up to ‘Satisfaction,’ which was such an enormous hit worldwide.” He added, “This, to us, was mind-blowing. I mean, not only was it a No. 1 record but, boom! We thought ‘At last. We can sit back and maybe think about events.’”
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Unfortunately for the band, that wasn’t the case. “Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door and, of course, what came out was ‘Get Off of My Cloud.’ Because within three weeks, in those days hey, they want another single,” Richards explained. “So, it was our response to the knock at the door: get off of my cloud. “I’m surprised it did so well. I mean it has a certain charm but I really remember it as a knee-jerk reaction.”
Featured Image by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
The post On This Day in 1965, The Rolling Stones Dethroned The Beatles at No. 1 With a “Knee-Jerk” Response to Industry Pressure appeared first on American Songwriter.