The question of the greatest rock and roll band of all time is not one with an easy answer. There are countless opinions on the subject. You’d be hard-pressed to find a consensus. But, if we want an educated guess on the subject, perhaps we should look to another rock great. Find out why Bob Dylan thought the Rolling Stones were the greatest rock band of all time, below.
Videos by American Songwriter
Here’s Why Bob Dylan Thought the Rolling Stones Were the “Greatest Rock and Roll Band”
Childhood living is easy to do
The things you wanted, I bought them for you
Graceless lady, you know who I am
You know I can’t let you slide through my hands
Dylan has long revered the Rolling Stones. He once called them the beginning and end of rock and roll, meaning they were unlike anything that came before them and no one has been able to replicate their magic since.
“The Rolling Stones are truly the greatest rock and roll band in the world and always will be,” Dylan once said. “The last too. Everything that came after them, metal, rap, punk, new wave, pop-rock, you name it, you can trace it all back to the Rolling Stones. They were the first and the last and no one’s ever done it better.”
When talking about which Stones song in particular moved him, Dylan cited an all time fan favorite: “Wild Horses.”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe ‘Angie,’ ‘Ventilator Blues’ and what else, let me see. Oh yeah, ‘Wild Horses,’” Dylan once said.
Wild, wild horses couldn’t drag me away
I watched you suffer a dull, aching pain
Now you decided to show me the same
No sweeping exits or offstage lines
Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind
Luckily for Dylan, his love for the Stones is mutual. The band has also extended praise to the folk legend. Keith Richards once went on record saying he’d find a way to work with Dylan no matter the odds.
“I’d work with Bob any[where]. I’d work with Bob in hell or heaven. I love him,” Richards once said.
I know I dreamed you a sin and a lie
I have my freedom, but I don’t have much time
Faith has been broken, tears must be cried
Let’s do some living after we die
Wild horses couldn’t drag me away
Wild, wild horses, we’ll ride them some day
(Photo by Everett/Shutterstock)
More Features
-

From left, Paul McCartney (playing a Hofner 500/1 violin bass guitar) and John Lennon (playing a Gibson J-160E acoustic guitar) of English rock and pop group The Beatles perform on stage for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) music television show 'Shindig!' at Granville Studios in Fulham, London on 3rd October 1964. The band would play three songs on the show, Kansas City/hey-Hey-Hey!, I'm a Loser and Boys. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns) -

English singers, musicians, and songwriters Mick Jagger (at microphone), Keith Richards and Bill Wyman (far right) of the rock band 'The Rolling Stones,' perform on stage at Madison Square Garden, November 28, 1969. Jagger stands with his hands on his hips, eyes closed, and lips pursed together as he sings. (Photo by David Fenton/Getty Images)






