The first time that The Beatles and The Rolling Stones both appeared in the Top 10 of the same Billboard chart happened back in December 1964, and now, almost 59 years later, the British rock legends find themselves together again in the upper reaches of a Billboard tally.
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As Billboard.com reports, on the latest Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay (AAA) chart, The Stones’ “Angry” sits at No. 6, moving up two spots from last week, while The Beatles’ recently released track “Now and Then” debuted at No. 9.
[RELATED: The Beatles’ New Song, “Now and Then,” Tops U.K. Singles Chart, Setting Multiple Records]
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones first appeared together in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated December 12, 1964, when the Fab Four’s single “I Feel Fine” moved up from No. 22 to No. 5, while The Stones’ “Time Is on My Side” sat at No. 6 for a second consecutive week.
That same week, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were both together in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time, with The Stones’ 12 x 5 album at No. 3, and The Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night soundtrack and Something New album at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively.
Meanwhile, U2’s latest song, “Atomic City,” captures the top spot on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, moving up two spots from No. 3. This marks the Irish band’s 14th song to reach No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay tally, moving them ahead of Coldplay for the most all-time AAA chart-toppers. Full details of the latest Adult Alternative Airplay chart will be announced on Tuesday, November 14.
As previously reported, “Now and Then” became the No. 1 single in the U.K. on Friday, setting multiple records in doing so. The song was built around a demo the late John Lennon recorded in the late 1970s to which Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison added tracks during the 1990s but didn’t complete. Then, after the quality of Lennon’s vocal track was improved using modern technology, McCartney and Starr recorded new vocal and musical parts in 2022, and a string arrangement was added to complete the song.
“Angry” is the lead single from The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds album, the band’s first collection of new songs since 2005. The tune recently received a Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Song category.
In other news, The Stones took to their social media sites on Sunday to post a clip from the music video for their 1981 hit, “Waiting on a Friend” that shows the band’s five members hanging out in a New York City bar. Accompanying the clip is a note that reads, “Rolling it back to 1981… inside St. Mark’s Bar & Grill in Manhattan. Who’s buying the first round?” “Waiting on a Friend” appeared on The Stones’ chart-topping 1981 album Tattoo You, and peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100.
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