3 Times Famous Musicians Were Disappointed by Their Heroes

They say it’s better not to meet your heroes, and unfortunately, there’s a few artists out there who can say they understand why. From John Lennon to Adam Duritz, here are a few creatives whose expectations weren’t met when it came to their idols.

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The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry

If you want to talk about not meeting your heroes, Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones practically coined the phrase. When he met his Stones co-founder, Keith Richards, the two bonded over their fondness for singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. However, let’s just say they were in for a not-so-pleasant surprise when they truly got to know their icon professionally.

Berry ended up touring with The Stones in 1969 and meeting them several times. After a while, Jagger admitted that both he and Keith were a little disappointed, especially Keith. “He was an oddly cheap character in some ways, very quirky. He never had a good band. He was always rude to everyone,” Jagger said in 2001. However, he admitted, “Keith always thought of him as more of a hero than I did, and therefore, was more disappointed with him when he was rather rude and overbearing.”

John Lennon and Elvis Presley

When The Beatles met Elvis Presley for the first time, it wasn’t necessarily bad; it was just a little awkward. Even Priscilla Presley would later admit in an interview that “you could hear a pin drop” when the Fab Four walked in to meet the King, because they were so nervous they could barely speak. However, John Lennon would later explain to Jagger that meeting Elvis was a “real disappointment” for him. This didn’t align with what Priscilla would say about the event, explaining that Lennon was particularly nervous to meet Elvis back then. “John was shy, timid, looking at him. I mean, I really believe that he just couldn’t believe that he was actually there with Elvis Presley,” she shared.

Adam Duritz and Bob Dylan

It’s well known that Adam Duritz of Counting Crows is a huge Bob Dylan fan. Duritz even mentioned Dylan once, saying he “wanted to be” him. Unluckily for Duritz, Dylan wouldn’t take too kindly to the sentiment. While on a tour, Duritz’s former guitarist César Díaz told Dylan, “‘Bob, the guy from the Counting Crows, he wants to be you.’” Bob Dylan allegedly replied, “‘Yeah, look at them. What a piece of sh*t.’”

Years later, Duritz would readdress his previous statement. “I don’t really wanna be Bob Dylan,” he explained. “I wanna be me — well, I mean the truth is, f**k, we’d all like to be Bob Dylan. He’s really f**king good. I’d like to be that good, but I’m not, but I’m OK with being me.”

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