Why Mick Jagger Thought the Beatles Were Incomparable

For decades now, fans have been begging the question, “Who is better the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?” After such a long debate it seems there really is no definitive answer. Well, unless you’re Mick Jagger and then there is…Find out why the Stones frontman thought his mop top counterparts were so incomparable, below.

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Why Mick Jagger Thought the Beatles Were Incomparable

In the ’60s, there was some friendly rivalry between the Stones and the Beatles. Jagger has issued his fair share of snide remarks aimed at the foursome. Nevertheless, he has ceded that the Beatles were the blueprint for English rock that has transatlantic appeal.

In the mid-’90s, Jagger discussed what made the Beatles so untouchable in terms of fame. In fact, he couldn’t think of anyone to compare them too.

“The Beatles were so big that it’s hard for people not alive at the time to realize just how big they were,” Jagger said at the time. “There isn’t a real comparison with anyone now. I suppose Michael Jackson at one point, but it still doesn’t quite seem the same.”

In the same conversation, Jagger talked about the comparison between the Stones and the Beatles. According to him, there wasn’t much comparison at all.

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“They were so big that to be competitive with them was impossible,” Jagger continued. “I’m talking about in record sales and tours and all this. They were huge…They were the Beatles. They were this forerunning, breakthrough item, and that’s hard to overestimate.”

He reiterated that sentiment when he inducted the Beatles into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He talked about looking to them for songwriting advice–particularly the duo of Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

“The example of the way they wrote, and the original way that they crafted their songs wasn’t lost on us,” Jagger said. “Later, their success in America broke down a lot of doors that helped everyone else from England that followed. I thank them very much for all those things.”

Revisit the Stones’ Beatles-penned single, “I Wanna Be Your Man,” below.

I wanna be your lover, baby
I wanna be your man
I wanna be your lover, baby
I wanna be your man

Tell me that you love me, baby
Tell me you understand
Tell me that you love me, baby
Tell me you understand

(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)