by HB Auld, Jr.

On May 7, 1965, 56 years ago today, one of the greatest rock riffs of all time came to Keith Richards in his sleep. He was sound asleep when he awoke with a start, grabbed a tape recorder and laid down just 30 seconds of a guitar riff before he crashed back asleep.

The next morning, he had that 30 seconds on tape, followed by 45 minutes of snoring. That intro went on to become The Rolling Stones’ biggest hit of all time and was listed later as Number Two on “Rolling Stones Magazine’s” 500 Songs of All Time.

With Keith’s fuzzbox and classic lyrics added by Mick Jagger, it became that monster hit 56 years ago today during a tour of America and just what The Rolling Stones needed to infuse excitement into their tour.

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