Definitely “Satisfaction” would be their signature tune. (I also don’t think most would choose “A Day in the Life” for the Beatles. I love that song, but it’d be pretty deep down I my list of guesses if you asked me what most people would name as the Beatles signature song.)
I think I’ve more often heard ‘Start Me Up’ used on TV to signify the Stones in a sound-bite, though I’m not keen on that song, and would choose ‘Satisfaction’ too, if I was the TV researcher responsible.
I think for the Beatles its far more hazy. Most people would say Satisfaction for the Stones (and some would say a few others), but I don’t think most people would be able to settle for one “signature” for the Beatles. My choice, for example, would be Hard Day’s Night.
Have to agree with the majority: “Satisfaction” is *the *Stones signature song. (With a nod to “The Last Time,” if only because of all the “This May Be the Last Time” headlines every friggin’ time the band tours.)
If the Beatles have a signature it would have to be something from the Beatlemania period, either “She Loves You” (that “yeah yeah yeah” alone is their signature, really) or “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Yeah, Satisfaction for sure. But Gimme Shelter is a better song. Not that there’s anything shabby about Satisfaction.
Same for the Beatles… you might pick I Wanna Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Yesterday, Strawberry Fields Forever, Hey Jude, Let It Be… but the epic song is really A Day In The Life
Yes, yes and yes except that for Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” is definitely in contention. As well as “The Times they are a Changin’”. Not best, but most recognizable.
Yes, absolutely. Their signature tunes are the Pop stuff that made them famous, not their deep hippie psychedelic stuff that gets little play on the radio.
It seems as though the Stones’ signature song has become “Start Me Up” or at least that’s what radio stations and ticket sellers have adopted as their most recognizable song.
All you Beatles fans have got it wrong. Their real signature song is, “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?”
But seriously, I think the answer differs based on how large a fan you are. Most casual fans of the Beatles may not even know “A Day in the Life”, or they may know the song and know of the title, but haven’t realized they are the same song (since the title’s never spoken in the lyrics – I know that was the case for me, long long ago.) Whereas their early pop hits are widely known by everyone.
Likewise, for the Stones, casual fans are most likely to recognize “Satisfaction” (or even “Start Me Up”) while more serious fans would probably pick one of their deeper tracks, like “Street Fightin’ Man” or “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. As for Bob Dylan, casual fans would quickly choose “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “The Times They Are A-Changin’” or “Like a Rolling Stone”, whereas…well, those are really the only Dylan songs I know, so there you go.
For some bands, you’ve got what I call “The Bohemian Rhapsody Effect”, where one answer seems so obvious that it seems TOO obvious, so you end up listening to the band’s entire catalog before finally sticking with your first choice of “Stairway to Heaven”, "Bohemian Rhapsody, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Free Bird”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Pull Me Under”, etc. On the other side of the spectrum, there’s bands like Genesis – do they even have a signature song???
