3 Artists Who Dislike the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are generally considered one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Despite their prestige, there are inevitable naysayers. Among that pack are the three musicians listed, below.

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1. Lemmy

According to Lemmy, the Rolling Stones lacked a certain edge that is required of any rocker worth their salt. Instead of the flower power-defying, legendary rebels many fans of the Stones regard them as, Lemmy felt they were hiding a softer side.

As far as knocks one rocker could give another, we’d have to imagine that calling someone a poser would hit the hardest. Lemmy once directed that hit towards the Stones.

“The Rolling Stones were the mummy’s boys – they were all college students from the outskirts of London,” Lemmy once said. “They went to starve in London, but it was by choice, to give themselves some sort of aura of disrespectability.”

2. David Crosby

David Crosby was never afraid to speak his mind. That trait certainly extended to speaking his opinion of the Stones.

While Crosby and his supergroup bandmates were fostering a sense of peace in the world with their politically charged folk tunes, the Stones were ushering in a new era–one that was far darker and edgier (though Lemmy might disagree). That fact apparently didn’t sit well with Crosby.

“I think the major mistake was taking what was essentially a party and turning it into an ego game and a star trip of The Rolling Stones, who qualify in my book as snobs,” Crosby once said. “I think they’re on a grotesque, negative ego trip, essentially, especially the two leaders.”

3. Elton John

Elton John‘s qualms are less with the band as a whole and more so directed at Keith Richards. The guitarist made a snide comment or two about John, leading to an ongoing feud between the two musicians.

“It would be awful to be like Keith Richards,” John once said about the Stones member. “He’s pathetic. It’s like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go on stage and look young. I have great respect for the Stones but they would have been better if they had thrown Keith out 15 years ago.”

(Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rolling Stones)