Mick Jagger on How The Stones Compared to the Beatles

The Rolling Stones are one of the most-toured and longest-lived rock bands in history. They still sell out shows around the globe and garner screams from awed fans in the crowds. But, the height of the British Invasion in the mid and late 1960s saw their rise to fame shadowed by that of The Beatles. In one interview from that time Mick Jagger is asked repeatedly if he thinks The Rolling Stones are better than The Beatles. His initial answer might shock some- he said that the bands were too different to compare.

At the time rock & roll was a new genre and despite huge differences in sound many times bands were lumped together under umbrella labels. Terms like heavy metal, hard rock, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock had yet to enter the lingo. Instead terms like folk or rock covered many different kinds of music that didn’t really describe the different kinds of music being created. And, to the older folks who grew up on jazz standards and crooners the new bands might have been indistinguishable from each other, each group breaking from the old musical traditions to similar distaste from older generations.

So, when Jagger answered that the bands were different, the interviewer pressed him and asked again. It’s only with a sly look to the camera and a little grin from Jagger that we know the real answer.

In other interviews from the era (and long after) Jagger expressed respect for The Beatles, noting that they were excellent songwriters who had somewhat deceptively started their careers with the good boy image despite being rebellious rockers at heart. So it’s no surprise that he chose not to put them down during the interview.

Watch the short interview clip in the video below.