The Musical Icon That Made Mick Jagger “Bite His Nails” With Nervousness

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is a performer who seems to ooze confidence from every pore in his sinewy, strutting body, but there was one musical icon who could knock Jagger down a few pegs without even trying, leaving the British rock ‘n’ roller biting his nails in the wings.

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Indeed, comparison might be the thief of joy, but that doesn’t stop artists from doing it anyway—even artists who enjoy international stardom and success.

This Musical Icon Made Mick Jagger Nervous

Inspiration is a never-ending cycle through generations, hopping from one group of musicians to another, who send it to another, and so on and so on. Before Mick Jagger was influencing his own swarm of future musicians as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, he was watching the artists who came before him with wonder, admiration, and, because Jagger is only human, likely a little bit of jealousy. After all, in an industry where performers are plentiful and attention is scarce, competition gets quite fierce.

For Jagger, the artist who kept him humble was musical icon James Brown. Interestingly, another notable name in rock ‘n’ roll, KISS’ Gene Simmons, talked about watching Jagger react to Brown during a 1960s television appearance. “I remember a TV show from the sixties that had the Stones and the Beach Boys and James Brown,” Simmons recalled in a 2024 interview with Classic Rock.

“The Stones were closing the show,” Simmons continued, “and while James Brown was on stage, there was a close-up of Mick Jagger watching him and biting his nails. James Brown was just killing it, like nobody I’ve ever seen. It was astonishing how he moved, the way he was contorting his body.” As Mick Jagger would say in an interview with Time, he was paying close attention, too.

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Watched James Brown Closely

Gene Simmons wasn’t the only one entranced by the way James Brown moved his body throughout his performances. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger often cited Brown as a major inspiration for his own stage moves, which he was still developing when a television crew caught him nervously biting his nails in the wings. In a 2024 interview with Time, Jagger unapologetically admitted, “I copied all his moves; I copied everybody’s moves.”

“I used to do [James’] slide across the stage. I couldn’t do the splits. So, I didn’t even bother,” Jagger said. “Everyone did the microphone trick, where you pushed the microphone, then you put your foot on it, and it comes back, and then you catch it. James probably did it best. I used to try to do it, but in the end, it hit me in the face too many times, and I gave it up. So, of course, I copied his moves.”

Jagger offered one example, describing a move in which “you move laterally from one side of the stage ot the other, twisting your foot on one leg. I could do that one,” he said. “But it’s kind of attitude, too, not just a body move. It’s kind of an attitude that he had on stage. You copy it. It wasn’t so much moves. It’s about presence on stage in relationship to the audience.”

Based on Jagger’s own prolific career and reputation for unfettered, brash, and confident dance moves onstage, it’s safe to say that he was an incredibly bright, teachable student of James Brown’s volatile, high-energy classroom.

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