The 1960s were a decade when rock n’ roll was sweeping the scene and the British Invasion came knocking on US doors. Teens all over the world defined themselves by one thing, whether they were loyal to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, and the rivalry didn’t stop with the fans. Though the two legendary groups were never to admit that they were in open competition with each other, it was hard to disregard the clear attempts to outperform one another on the charts week by week. So who took the prize? Almost five decades later and the answer is still shaky at best.
By Jeroen Hamelink - Vinyl Expert
For The Beatles
There’s one thing nobody can deny in this everlasting debate, even if it was only by a number of months - The Beatles always came first. By comparison every other band coming out of the UK seemed to be a response. Not only were The Beatles beginning to taste fame with singles like ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Please Please Me’, but it’s a known fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney decided to write an original single for The Rolling Stones in 1963, which gave the young and struggling band their very first commercial hit - ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. You could say that the Beatles inadvertently gave birth to the Stones, the yin to their yang?
Nevertheless between 1965 and 1970 both bands preceded or succeeded each other on the number one charts worldwide. But beginning in 1967 the Stones showed signs of blatantly copying The Beatles in certain tracks like ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ to the Stones ‘Their Satanic Majesties Requests’. At the end of the day one thing is certain, the Stones were never to receive the same cultural respect as The Beatles who now stand on the same level of other universal pop icons like Elvis and Michael Jackson. What’s more to say?
For The Rolling Stones
Sometimes you gotta love the underdogs. The Rolling Stones always associated themselves to the grittiest type of Chicago’s rock n’ roll and blues (even though they weren’t from Chicago). while they saw The Beatles as a pop band, a great pop band, but still something different to them. Were they as revolutionary as The Beatles? Maybe not, but their output of great music was nearly twice as long between 1963 and 1981, over a decade more than The Beatles were able to stay together.
Once Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began writing together, starting with ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ in 1965 the Stones transitioned from a niche band to one that took in every genre and transformed it through their own kaleidoscope. Through the 70s they adapted genres such as Reggae, Funk, Disco and Philly Soul successfully, never compromising their own style.
Sometimes called the ‘Anti-Beatles’, The Rolling Stones never really came out from under the shadow of John, Paul, George and Ringo - but one thing is certain, they stuck to their rock n roll “don’t give a f**k” attitude even up to today, 50 years later. Now that requires a whole lot of respect.
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