Mick Jagger Explained How The Beatles Changed The Rolling Stones’ Direction

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had something of a friendly rivalry. The two were in direct competition but usually friendly, and The Beatles were partly responsible for their jump to success. The Beatles did become popular first, and Mick Jagger said that listening to their music changed the direction The Rolling Stones went with their music. 

The Rolling Stones began as a Blues cover band

The Rolling Stones formed in the early 1960s. Known as The Blues Boys in their early stages, the band performed songs by popular rock and blues artists, such as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley. The band began building a following in 1962 but was still performing covers. Their first single covered Berry’s “Come On”, which reached No. 21 on the U.K. charts.

Their second single, “I Wanna Be Your Man,” was given to them by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The Beatles recorded their own version of the song, but The Rolling Stones’ version was more popular, reaching No. 13 on the charts. After the success of this single, The Rolling Stones began doing more original songs and exploded in popularity. The band was at the forefront of the British Invasion as American audiences fell in love with their music. 

Mick Jagger said The Rolling Stones’ shifted their direction after listening to The Beatles

In the BBC documentary My Life as a Rolling Stone, Mick Jagger said The Rolling Stones knew they had to go in a different direction after listening to The Beatles. While The Stones was initially a blues band, he and guitarist Keith Richards knew they had to become a “pop band” to be successful. 

“The Beatles suddenly explode, and there you are going, ‘Oh, yeah, but we’re a blues band!’ The Beatles changed this whole thing,” Jagger added. “Keith, he’d play The Beatles all the time [and] it’d drive me absolutely batty! Why he was playing The Beatles wasn’t because he didn’t want to listen to anything else; [it was because] Keith wanted to write these pop songs. We [were] undeniably the blues band, but we knew we had to be a pop band.”

Keith Richards was ‘envious’ of The Beatles

Keith Richards had the same idea as Mick Jagger, knowing The Rolling Stones had to shake things up. Richards recalled listening to “Love Me Do” — one of The Beatles’ earliest singles — and being blown away. He became “envious” of the fab four and wanted to start writing more hit singles.

“We were working the clubs in London, and The Beatles just came out and had a hit, ‘Love Me Do’… And we said, ‘Oh man, what a great record,’” Richards explained. “Our job [at the time] was to be like the premier rhythm and blues band in London, and we managed that! But we had no idea of progressing beyond that stage [until then]. We were just envious, too, man. I mean, they’re doing what we wanted – they got it! They could make records. The Holy Grail was to make records, to be able to get into a studio.”