There’s never any shortage of drama in the world of classic rock. According to famed guitarist Harvey Mandel, Keith Richards once sabotaged his opportunity to join The Rolling Stones following the departure of Mick Taylor.
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Mandel sat down late last month with Guitar World to talk about his past work, and the conversation of one Rolling Stones audition came up. The incident allegedly took place back in 1974 after Taylor left the band, and the Stones were struggling to find a replacement. As we all know, the band went with Ronnie Wood, who is still a part of the classic rock band today.
However, the Stones auditioned a number of different guitarists before opting for Wood. One of them was, apparently, Harvey “The Snake” Mandel, best known for his work in Canned Heat. According to Mandel, following a call from Mick Jagger to audition, Keith Richards sabotaged his opportunity to join the legendary band.
“I was living in LA,” Mandel told Guitar World. “In the middle of the night, I got a call, and it’s Mick Jagger. I thought it was somebody goofing around, but I realized it was Mick Jagger. He said, ‘We want you to come to Germany.’”
Mandel claims that Jagger didn’t explicitly say it was an audition, but rather that Jagger wanted him to “come and play to be a part of the record.”
“Next day, I got a ticket, took the acoustic amp and my guitar, and flew to Germany,” said Mandel.
The guitarist went on to record the songs “Memory Motel” and “Hot Stuff” with the band. However, his dreams of joining the “Paint It Black” hitmakers were dashed (allegedly) by the band’s guitarist, Keith Richards.
Harvey Mandel Claims That Keith Richards Sabotaged His Chance to Join The Rolling Stones
“Ronnie Wood came in the next day, and they were pals,” Mandel continued. “They grew up together and hung out. Mick Jagger wanted me to play. Keith Richards wanted Ronnie Wood, who won out, because Keith had the power to insist it was Ronnie, or else. So I kind of got aced out.”
Mandel also said that Richards was somewhat hostile towards him during his time in Germany.
“Keith Richards was kind of weird,” Mandel said. “I played some of the greatest guitar licks I ever played, but he didn’t even say hello or shake hands. He was kind of unfriendly, whereas Mick Jagger was the complete opposite. It was before Ronnie Wood even came into the picture; he didn’t come in until a day or two later. Keith was just kind of aloof.”
Mandel went on to say that he didn’t suspect that Richards was intimidated, but rather that he wasn’t naturally friendly and perhaps wasn’t the biggest fan of an American joining his band.
“I never got friendly with Keith Richards,” Mandel continued. “If it wasn’t for him, I would have been the Rolling Stones’ replacement for Mick Taylor. He’s the one that screwed me up.”
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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