--- ---  # How Mick Jagger Explained the 'Dirtiest Line' in 'Satisfaction'  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 5, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  The Rolling Stones (L-R: Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts) in 1963 The Rolling Stones (L-R: Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts) in 1963Fiona Adams—Redferns / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 5, 2015 11:00 AM UTC When the now-classic Rolling Stones song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was released a half-century ago this weekend, TIME barely noticed. It wasn’t until September that the single got a quick mention on [the listings page](http://time.com/vault/issue/1965-09-17/page/20/), the weekly round-up of what was new in TV, movies and music. “The Stones manage to sing with nervous intensity and snigger at the same time,” the critic noted in the three-sentence capsule review. By the time the song was next mentioned, in 1966, it had sold 4.5 million copies. But not everyone was happy about that. The reason it had come up was as part of a [trend story](http://time.com/vault/issue/1966-07-01/page/70/) about how radio DJs were dealing with the fact that rock music, using the mysterious trick of “hip teen talk,” was sneaking inappropriate language onto the airwaves. When it wasn’t clear just what a singer was saying, how were DJ’s to know what was OK to play? Case in point: The ‘Satisfaction’ line about “trying to make some girl.” Some stations bleeped it; some didn’t play the song; some insisted that singer Mick Jagger wasn’t enunciating well enough for them to know what to do. ### Portrait of the Rolling Stones When They Were Young and Dangerous  The Rolling Stones (from left: Wyman, Jones, Jagger, Richards and Watts) perform on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1965. John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Jagger, the article explained, got a kick out of the question: --- > “” --- **_Read a 1989 cover story about the Rolling Stones, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Rock Rolls On](http://time.com/vault/issue/1989-09-04/page/1/) ### Musicians on the Cover of TIME  The Dixie Chicks (May 29, 2006) JILL GREENBERG FOR TIME  Kanye West (Aug. 29, 2005) KWAKU ALSTON FOR TIME  Ricky Martin (May 24, 1999) TIME  Lauryn Hill (Feb. 8, 1999) TIME  Jewel (July 21, 1997) HERB RITTS  Pearl Jam (Oct. 25, 1993) NEAL PRESTON  Garth Brooks (March 30, 1992) JAMES SCHNEPF / GAMMA LIAISON  Madonna (May 27, 1985) FRANCESCO SCAVULLO  Michael Jackson (March 19, 1984) ANDY WARHOL  David Bowie (July 18, 1983) TIME  The Who (Dec. 17, 1979) TIME  Linda Ronstadt (Feb. 28, 1977) MILTON GREENE  Paul McCartney (May 31, 1976) RICHARD E. AARON  Elton John (July 7, 1975) DON WELLER  Cher (March 17, 1975) RICHARD AVEDON  Joni Mitchell (Dec. 16, 1974) BOB PEAK  James Taylor (March 1, 1971) J. H. BRESLOW  The Band (Jan. 12, 1970) BOB PEAK  Aretha Franklin (June 28, 1968) BORIS CHALIAPIN  The Beatles (Sept. 22, 1967) TIME  Joan Baez (Nov. 23, 1962) TIME  Frank Sinatra (Aug. 29, 1955) TIME  Rosemary Clooney (Feb. 23, 1953) BORIS CHALIAPIN  Louis Armstrong (Feb. 21, 1949) BORIS ARTZYBASHEFF  Bing Crosby (Apr. 7, 1941) ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones: TIME's 1965 Review ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3900528/1966-rolling-stones-satisfaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3900528/1966-rolling-stones-satisfaction/"},"headline":"How Mick Jagger Explained the 'Dirtiest Line' in 'Satisfaction'","datePublished":"2015-06-05T11:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:17.646Z","description":"'It's just life. 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