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Devo had to earn Mick Jagger’s satisfaction

Spinner has an awesome little rock anecdote up today about recording their 1980 debut record, the brilliant Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! The album opens with the band’s classic, weird and wonderful version of the Stones song “Satisfaction.” But in order to do that, the band had to actually play a recording of the cover for Mick Jagger, giving him a sense of what it was like before he approved the rights to include it.

Devo bassist Gerald Casale adds that this was back in the days “when people took intellectual property seriously.” He and Mark Mothersbaugh went to present the song, meeting Mick at his lawyer’s stately office. They were incredibly nervous that it would be rejected—“We would have been so crushed, crestfallen…It was cold and raining outside and the fire was going and he started dancing around in front of the fireplace going ‘I like it! I like it!’ We were like ‘Oh f—-. It’s Mick Jagger and he’s dancing and saying “I like it.” It was great.”

The band still tours and still plays “Satisfaction” for their crowds. Get concert tickets at StubHub next time they’re on the road.