THE BEATLES VS. THE ROLLING STONES? NOT SO MUCH! HERE’S OUR GUIDE TO 10 FRIENDLY — AND OCCASIONALLY EXCELLENT — COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN TWO LEGENDARY BANDS
By Damian Fanelli
WAS THERE Arivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the Sixties? Sure. Was it ever serious? Not really. Is it something you’re gonna read about in this story? Not at all. In fact, we’re actually gonna head off in the opposite direction and discuss 60 years’ (and counting) worth of collaborations between these two extremely influential British bands, collaborations that — according to the Stones’ Keith Richards — are the result of a unique relationship.
“There’s always been an open door between the Beatles and the Stones,” Richards told Guitar Player while promoting the Stones’ 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, which — hey, whaddya know? — features former Beatle Paul McCartney on bass on one track. “We were the only ones that knew what it’s like to have that extreme kind of fame in the 1960s, so that created a bond.” Come to think of it, maybe that’s why Mick Jagger inducted the Beatles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — or why Richards and McCartney sometimes hang out together while on vacation in places like Turks and Caicos.
Below, we’ve pinpointed 10 tracks on which the Beatles and the Stones — as bands or as solo artists — are somehow connected. And, by the way, if you do want to read about the Beatles/Stones rivalry, be sure to check out John McMillian’s excellent Beatles vs. Stones (Simon & Schuster, 2013) or “Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones: A History of Their Legendary Rivalry” over at Variety.com.
“THE BEATLES AND the Stones have been basically joined together at the hips from the beginning,” Richards told GP. “We were totally different bands, but we knew each other well.” So it makes perfect sense that when Lennon and McCartney bumped into the Stones (or Stones producer/manger Andrew Loog-Oldham, depending on which version of the legend you subscribe to) on a London street in October 1963, they were invited to the Stones’ recording session at De Lane Lea Studio. It turned out the Stones were in the market for a commercial song, and John and Paul (especially Paul) had just the thing, a feisty roots-rocker called “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Keef & Co. recorded it, and — voila — they had their first U.K. top 20 hit. The Beatles also recorded it (for With the Beatles), and both versions actually came out that November.
