When Keith Richards Wrote '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' In His Sleep

Ol' Blue Eyes disdained many things – warm vodka, wearing brown after dark, hitting the town without a dame on each arm – but he especially loathed the idea of leading a static life. "You've gotta love livin', baby," he said often. "Because dyin' is a pain in the ass!"

When Frank Sinatra passed away from a heart attack at age 82, he was celebrated around the world for living a glamorous, passionate life that few could equal. A cultural icon from the Swing Era until his death, he sold millions of records, won Grammys and an Academy Award, mingled with mobsters, was befriended by presidents (most famously Kennedy and Clinton), and romanced beautiful starlets with abandon.

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on December 12, 1915, Sinatra rose to early musical fame as a swing heartthrob before he turned traditional pop crooner—ultimately releasing over 200 records in his career, 51 of them Top 40 albums—as well as won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his tragic turn in 1953's From Here to Eternity. He also founded Reprise Records, a still-thriving imprint and an unlikely bastion of excellent rock & roll (Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys all signed there), served as the highball-slinging ringleader of the Rat Pack, donated millions to humanitarian causes, and generally went about his life with unparalleled zeal. Following his death in Los Angeles, he was mourned in the international press and buried in Cathedral City, California.

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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

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