It just takes money and age to get "Satisfaction."

It was my third time seeing a live performance by The Rolling Stones perform and Sunday's concert at Soldier Field brought back memories to their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966

By Ray Hanania

Free/Arab American Feature, Rolling Stones/Monday July 1, 2024

As I enjoyed The Rolling Stones and surviving band members Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards perform "Satisfaction" at Soldier Field on Sunday, June30,  2024, it reminded me of the first time had I seen them nearly 60 years ago.

I wondered, have we gotten "satisfaction" or is that just an unreachable illusion? Or, is it something that we each have to define for ourselves?

It was a Sunday evening on February 13, 1966 when my mom and dad took my sister and I to visit with our family friends, the Salmans, at their small apartment in Chicago.

While there, we convinced "Amo" (Uncle) Jalil Salman to turn the channel of their black and white Zenith TV set to the Ed Sullivan Show, which that evening featured several comedians like Phyllis Diller, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, entertainers Laurence Harvey, and a London band called "The Rolling Stones."

There were a few shows we watched as a family including the crime drama, "The Naked City," but we always watched the Ed Sullivan Show every Sunday night after dinner. It was always entertaining and my mom loved it.

We had just finished a great dinner, a typical Palestinian-Jordanian meal that included lamb-stuffed grape leaves, stuffed squash, tabouli, hummus with home-made Syrian Pita Bread.

At that time, the Arabian food ingredients were difficult to get. My mom had gone back to Palestine last Fall to visit relatives, carrying two suitcases, one with her clothes and essentials, and the other that was empty. The empty luggage would be filled for the return trip with Arab food ingredients like Tahini, bags of Molokhia (dried Jute leaves), and spices like cumin and Za'atar, a herb mix of thyme, oregano, marjoram along with other spices including sesame, sumac, cumin or coriander, and the prize seasoning, Turmeric, an essential ingredient in many Middle East recipes.

Keep in mind, back then you could bring food into the country. People also smoked on the airplanes, int he airport and everyone was allowed to go to the airport gate even if you weren't a passenger.

The strong aroma of these delicious foods wafted through the Salman's apartment, even after we enjoyed the meal together.

My sister Linda and I sat on the wood floor in the front room of the apartment. Nearby was a small baby stroller where the Salman's first child, Faisal, was looking around wide-eyed.

We had first heard of The Rolling Stones two years before. They had been mentioned in the "Teen" magazines that showcased musicians and celebrities that you could buy from the local store. They had released several albums although none of them really made a big impression. Everyone at the time was following The Beatles.

Chicago radio stations WLS and WCFL created a competition between themselves and were using the new London rock and roll bands to attract listeners. WLS had the "Silver Dollar Survey" and WCFL, or just CFL, had the "Super CFL Survey," which both listed that week's top songs. The surveys were on red or green bordered paper handed out to customers when you browsed or bought one of the 45 RPM records by the local music store on 87th Street near Stoney Island Avenue in Chicago.

On the Ed Sullivan Show that evening, the Stones played the one song that really kicked their music through the ceiling and created a rivalry on local radio between The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. They played "(I can't get no) Satisfaction," which was their first international hit.

They also played "As Tears Go By," and ended with "19th Nervous Breakdown."

Mick Jagger, up close on Soldier Field screen

But it was the song "Satisfaction" that real jettisoned The Rolling Stones into our enthusiasm and excitement. It was a great song. Kids were signing it at school. I was only 12 at the time, but I had been following the Beatles for more than four years since October 1962 when we first heard about them.

Their big hit in 1962, when I was only nine years old, was "Love Me Do," but that wasn't released on a 45 RPM record in the states until a little over a year later in 1964 when it was re-released in American music stores.

We had heard it on radio months before you could get the record. "Love Me Do" really made an impression getting all the elementary school kids singing the lyrics over and over again before and after class.

It opened the door to the Beatles-Stones rivalry, Students identified as either Beatles Fans or Rolling Stones Fans. I loved them both as I listened on my little plastic boxed transistor radio with a wired earphone.

We would carry the transitor radios with us along with our towel and swimsuit when we went to Rainbow Beach along 77th Street and Lake Michigan and lie down on the sand listening to the some of the rock musicians that were rising up in the London music revolution that was sweeping across America. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. The Kingsman and the controversial song "Louie Louie."

We would also bring a bottle of baby oil with drops of mecurochrome, used as an antiseptic for small cuts and bruises, that we rubbed on our skin to help us get a fast brown tan. Everyone wore shorts with white sox and black shoes at the beach and everyone smoked cigarettes like crazy. All the Hollywood actors had nice tans and smoked cigarettes in the movies and TV shows so why shouldn't we?

It wasn't until years later that I got to see the Stones with my wife when they came to Chicago April 12, 1999 at the United Center.

And I saw them again on May 31, 2013 with my young son, Aaron for The Rolling Stones "50 and Counting" tour.

Aaron was only 12 at the time and we had great seats, on the side of the open stage seven rows from the front. The problem was two older ladies were smoking joints right behind us during the entire two hour concert which had an impact on my son.

By the end of the night, as we were leaving, Aaron asked if we could "get some sliders" from White Castles before getting home.

I figured I better take my time driving us home before his mother figured out he might be "high."

When I look back at it all, from the first time I heard of "The Rolling Stones" to this past weekend when I sat and enjoyed them performing a selection of their old and new songs, I realized you can get satisfaction. At least, I was satisfied.

It's what you make of life, I guess. When you are young, you don't really think about it in the long context. But when you get older, everything gets put into a context making it easier than ever to be satisfied, especially if you try, and try and try some more.

It didn't matter if Jagger hit all the notes right or missed any words of the lyrics. He's not a politician and his finger isn’t on the nuclear button.

What matters is, did I have a good relaxing and enjoyable time for the money and time I invested?

The answer is a definite yes.