Today in Music (1965): The Rolling Stones “Get Off of My Cloud” hit #1

Get Off of My Coud The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (see lyrics here) Released: September 25, 1965 First Charted: October 1, 1965 Peak: 12 BB, 12 CB, 11 GR, 2 HR, 1 CL, 13 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 7.2 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Rolling Stones followed up “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” their first American #1 single, with “Get Off of My Cloud – their second chart-topper in the U.S. and their eighth single in the states overall. Lead singer Mick Jagger said the pressure to better yourself was enormous. “Every eight weeks you had to come up with a red-hot song that said it all in two minutes, 30 seconds.” FB “Cloud” is “a raucous dismissal of modern life in all its most annoying guises.” DT After the success of “Satisfaction,” “the Rolling Stones suddenly found themselves public property. This single was their reaction to that intrusion and, ironically, made their problems considerably worse” XFM given that it was another #1 hit. The “sequel is basically just a knockoff. So what makes it great? The most explosive drumming Charlie Watts (or damn near anybody else) has ever done; a lyric that’s twice as funny and just as true as its model; production so dense you could fall into it and never resurface – or want to.” DM Guitarist Keith Richards didn’t like the production and said, “The chorus was a nice idea, but we rushed it.” XFM The song was the first Stones’ release after they had renegotiated their contract with Decca Records for a better royalty rate. Reportedly, it gave them the best rate of the day. FB The song also lifted the Stones “into the rarefied strata of British supergroups,” FB second in popularity only to the Beatles. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 186. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 41. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 139. XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 364. Related Links: First posted 9/16/2023.