If you asked fans of either band, they could probably tell you a few key differences between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Though they are somewhat cut from the same cloth–both having blues inspirations and being apart of the “British Invasion”–they stand in contrast as well.
According to Keith Richards, there is one main difference that set the two bands apart. Find out what that is, below.
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The Main Difference Between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, According to Keith Richards
Well, I never kept a dollar past sunset
It always burned a hole in my pants
Never made a school mama happy
Never blew a second chance, oh no
I need a love to keep me happy
I need a love to keep me happy
Baby, baby, keep me happy
Baby, baby, keep me happy
Before digging deep enough to get into conversations about sound and attitude, the Stones and the Beatles have apparent differences that you can see at first glance. According to Richards, he marveled at the fact the Beatles had four unique singers while the Stones only had one, Mick Jagger. It’s something even Paul McCartney has marveled at in the past, despite having lived it first hand.
“I remember Keith Richards saying to me, ‘You had four singers. We only had one,’” McCartney once recalled. “Little things like that will set me off and I think, ‘Wow.’ That is pretty uncanny. And writers. Not just singers, but writers.”
“So you had me and John [Lennon] as writers and then George [Harrison] was a hell of a writer and then Ringo [Starr] comes up with ‘Octopus’s Garden’ and a couple of others,” he continued. “I love to go on about it because in going on about it, it brings back memories.”
Though Jagger certainly holds his own as a singer, it’s always an advantage to have more than one strong vocalist in your band. Despite agreeing with Richards’ claim regarding the Beatles, we have to push back a little on his opinion of his own singing chops.
Richards has stepped behind the mic a time or two during the Stones’ tenure. Find three of Richards’ best vocal moments, HERE.
Always took candy from strangers
Didn’t wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
I need a love to keep me happy
I need a love to keep me happy
Baby, baby, keep me happy
Baby, baby, keep me happy
(Photo by Christopher Simon Sykes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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