<p id=”par-1_58″>The Rolling Stones and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/the-beatles/”>The Beatles</a> will always be associated with each other — but that doesn’t mean they always appreciated each other. For example, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/mick-jagger-on-why-the-john-lennon-paul-mccartney-partnership-ended.html/”>The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger</a> didn’t think The Beatles were an impressive live band. He also revealed what he thought of John Lennon as a person and how he reacted to John’s death.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mick-jagger-said-the-beatles-were-not-a-good-live-band-by-modern-standards”>Mick Jagger said The Beatles were not a good live band by modern standards</h2>
<p id=”par-2_68″>During a 1995 interview with <a href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/mick-jagger-remembers-92946/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rolling Stone</a>, Jagger was asked if The Beatles deserved their reputation as the best band ever. “They certainly were not a great live band,” he said. “Maybe they were in the days of The Cavern, when they were coming up as a club band.” For context, The Cavern Club was the name of a venue where The Beatles performed during their early days.</p>
<p id=”par-3_87″>“I’m sure they were hilariously funny and all that,” Jagger added. “And they did have this really good onstage persona. But as far as the modern-day world, they were not a great performing band. But do they deserve the fantastic reputation? They were The Beatles. They were this forerunning, breakthrough item, and that’s hard to overestimate.” Jagger might have been referring to the way that The Beatles paved the way for many British bands — including The Rolling Stones — to find success in the United States.</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-the-rolling-stones-frontman-thought-of-john-lennon-as-a-person”>What The Rolling Stones’ frontman thought of John Lennon as a person</h2>
<p id=”par-4_61″>While Jagger had a mixed appraisal of The Beatles as live performers, he had a soft spot for <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/the-rolling-stones-mick-jagger-felt-john-lennons-death-ironic.html/”>John Lennon as a person</a>. He said that he was deeply upset when John was murdered. In Jagger’s opinion, John’s death “was all so horribly ironic.” Jagger was probably referring to the contrast between <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/singers-john-lennons-give-peace-a-chance-didnt-know-recorded.html/”>John’s activism for peace</a> and his senseless, violent death.</p>
<p id=”par-5_82″>“I just felt very sad for the loss of someone that I loved very much,” he said. “I didn’t write it up as a piece in <em>The Guardian.</em> I think journalists have this temptation to keep marking timelines. [Laughs] There are wall charts for children: dinosaurs end here, wooly mammoths here, and John Lennon dies here. You know?” While Jagger’s statement might be a touch hyperbolic, John’s death is often seen as the death knell for a lot of 1960s social trends.</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-mick-jagger-said-about-the-beatles-at-the-rock-amp-roll-hall-of-fame”>What Mick Jagger said about The Beatles at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame</h2>
<p id=”par-6_78″>While Jagger had some criticisms for The Beatles, they were eclipsed by his respect for the band. In 1988, he inducted the Fab Four into the <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rolz1VasS4″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Rock & Roll Hall of Fame</a>. The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/mick-jagger-david-bowies-dancing-in-the-street-performed-compared-original.html/”>“Dancing in the Street” singer</a> recalled how earlier British pop music was embarrassing. Then, The Beatles came on the scene with their bluesy hit “Love Me Do.” The song initially upset Jagger, who felt that it sounded too similar to The Rolling Stones’ signature style.</p>
<p id=”par-7_52″>However, Jagger thanked <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/mick-jagger-on-why-the-john-lennon-paul-mccartney-partnership-ended.html/”>the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership</a> for penning The Rolling Stones’ early single “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Jagger said that the two groups were great friends, though they occasionally felt some friction, and that he was honored to induct the Fab Four into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. </p>
<p id=”par-8_25″>Jagger wasn’t the biggest fan of The Beatles’ live performances — but he had a lot of fondness for the Fab Four as a whole.</p>