10 Popular Guitar Riffs Invented Accidentally
3. The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
The Rolling Stones are riff-heavy when it comes to their music, although it is "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that is the most famous of all.
Legend has it that Keith Richards wrote the riff and the song in his head while he was sleeping. Yes, you read that correctly.
Richards claimed that he went to bed with his guitar (something he often did) and messed around with it before he went to sleep. To capture his nonsensical fumbling, Richards usually recorded the process, only to listen to it in the morning and see if anything was worth keeping.
One morning, Richards woke up, played back the recording, and realized that he had played the riff in his sleep. He later said he had no recongition of doing so.
The only reason this story is believable is that it is the iconic and hilarious Keith Richards who is telling it.