Jordan Karlesson
“Love Me Do”? To Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, it’s more like “Love Me Don’t.”
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Pop music fans often pit the Beatles and the Rolling Stones against each other as rivals, trying to outdo each other on the rock and roll music charts, especially in the 1960s.
But for Mick Jagger, the Beatles will always have an edge on the Stones. He revealed as much while giving a speech before their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
“In England during those very early days, while the Beatles were recording their first songs, it was a real wasteland. England had really nothing to offer as far as pop music was concerned,” Mick Jagger recalled in his introduction speech. “At that point, the Stones were playing in these little clubs in London, doing Chuck Berry songs, and blues and things. … We were a scruffy lot and thought we were totally unique. There was no one like us. And then we heard there was a group from Liverpool …”
Mick Jagger continued about the Beatles.
“They had long hair, scruffy clothes but they had a record contract and they had a record on the charts with a bluesy harmonica on it called ‘Love Me Do,'” Jagger said. “When I heard the combination of all these things, I was almost sick.”
Mick Jagger Didn’t Plan to Rock This Late in Life
While Mick Jagger and those at the induction ceremony shared in a hearty laugh at his last comment, it seemed fairly clearly he wasn’t kidding. The Stones really did want to be in a league of their own and carve out a new niche for pop music.
Meanwhile, Jagger recently revealed that his high-energy days are coming to an end. Earlier this year, The Rolling Stones canceled their concert in Amsterdam at the last minute, after fans had already packed the venue, after Mick Jagger, 78, tested positive for Covid-19, he told NBC News.
“Rock ’n’ roll, or any kind of pop music honestly, isn’t supposed to be done when you’re in your 70s,” Mick Jagger told U.K. paper The Sunday Times. “It wasn’t designed for that. … We’ve got lots of ballads. I could sit on a chair.”
