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

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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