The 60s was really a dream era for rock lovers because most of the greatest bands we know of today are from back then. And among them certainly, comes The Beatles and The Rolling Stones two of the biggest music bands ever. People always claim that those two bands were rivals, but were they really? well, it is certain that fans were divided at some point and The Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham tried to pull more clout by setting these bands against each other.
However, it was all on the outside because both bands were really close and they would even help each other. According to Keith Richards, there was only love and cooperation between the two bands, he said that they would time their song release so that it would not clash. Furthermore, Richards even collaborated with The Beatles on their song “Yer Blues” which was released in 1968.
There was even a time when news broke out that claimed The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were set to merge. So, in this piece, we will be discussing if they were really set to merge or not.
Were The Beatles and The Rolling Stones set to merge?
Back in October 1967, Melody Maker magazine wrote an article where it said, “The proposed Beatles-Stones merger revealed at the weekend by Jonathan King on his ITV programme ‘Good Morning’ is almost certain to take place in the future. But it will be a business merger between the two groups and will not lead to any form of Rolling Beatles records. One idea they’re discussing is obtaining a recording studio where they can each make their own records and possibly record other artists. And there is a possibility of future intriguing schemes. These could include a talent school.”
A week after the article was written, the lead vocalist of The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger was interviewed by Disc Magazine and obviously, he was asked if the two bands were merging and Jagger told that it was nothing fantastic but just an idea that he and Paul McCartney talked about. He said that they wanted to make the best recording studio in the world. However, he also said that building a record label is another possibility.
Everyone was talking about the merge because obviously, they were the biggest rock band, and even Pete Townshend spoke and said that it was a wonderful idea because it would help and give new bands the opportunity. He then added, “I knew of one very promising group who used to get fed up because their recording company would only allow them an hour to do a session, which is hopeless. The Beatles-Stones idea will end all that bullshit.”
It seems that recording studios were lacking facilities back then because Graham Nash spoke about the idea of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones building a recording studio and said it was a “very good idea.” He also said that they had to overcome several problems before they get what they wanted. Similarly, several other stars also spoke about this news.
And they even started their project. By the time their merging was in news, they were already working on Marianne Faithfull‘s album where Paul and Mick were producers and Glyn Johns engineered the sound. Furthermore, Marianne also told NME that Jagger is producing new tracks for her album.
Sadly, Jagger and McCartney’s produced album by Faithfull was never released and it seems that for some reason they could not work out their brilliant idea of merging. However, if they would have merged then it would certainly have been amazing in fact even if they merge and worked together now it will be all over the news.
