The Beatles Song That Made Mick Jagger “Sick”
The early rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was, for the most part, a healthy one—except for the time Stones frontman Mick Jagger heard a Beatles song on the radio that made him “sick.” The song in question came out in 1962, one year before the Stones released their debut single.
Over two decades later, Jagger introduced the Beatles during their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. During his speech, he described what it felt like going green around the gills after hearing the Beatles’ hit track. This Beatles Song Made Mick Jagger “Sick”
Mick Jagger set up his story by painting a scene of early 1960s England. American pop overwhelmingly dominated the U.K. charts, and skiffle and rock music were still underground. “At that point, the Stones were playing in these little clubs in London doing Chuck Berry songs and blues and things.”
“We were a pretty scruffy lot,” Jagger smirked. “We thought that we were totally unique. Animals! I mean, there was no one like us. And then, we heard there was a group from Liverpool. They had long hair, scruffy clothes, but they had a record contract.”
“They had a record in the charts with a bluesy harmonica on it called “Love Me Do.” When I heard the combination of all these things, I was almost sick,” the Stones frontman riffed. “I thought, ‘Even if I have to learn to write songs, I’m gonna get this.’”
The Two Bands Helped Push Each Other’s Careers.
The scruffy lads from Liverpool might have been four suit-clad burrs in the Rolling Stones’ sides, but the bands developed a symbiotic relationship pretty quickly. In fact, John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the songwriters behind the Rolling Stones’ first chart success, “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
Just like iron sharpens iron, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones helped push one another to greater realms of creativity, success, and influence. In a way, having two rock and roll bands coming up in the U.K. at the exact same time was one of the best things that could have happened for rock music in general.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
