In late 1966, Keith Richards was hearing things. The Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter had in mind a series of strong, bluesy chords and a melody line based on French police-car sirens. But he unfortunately couldn't quite reproduce the way he envisioned it sounding—dry and crisp, with a "garage" feel. Then he purchased an early Philips cassette tape recorder and...using an acoustic guitar, created the basis for what would become "Street Fighting Man." Recorded in March, April and May 1968 and released in the U.S. in August, the summer single from their album "Beggars Banquet," only managed to reach #48 on the Billboard pop chart...
Read the entire article in The Wall Street Journal:
Watch the Rolling Stones perform "Street Fighting Man" Live in 1969 via YouTube: