First of all the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were never at odds with each. They never had a rivalry. The press created one in order to have sensationalism. In fact, they were quite friendly toward each other. The Beatles even gave them a song of theirs "A Whole Lotta Man" which was
The Beatles were from lower-class backgrounds in Liverpool which was looked down upon by London. It was a North Vs South battle that had been going on for forever. When the Beatles started out playing in Hamburg, Germany, a working-class town they wore leather and cussed from the stage while eating on stage and acting like degenerates. The Rolling Stones came from an upper class or middle-class background with the exception of Charlie Watts and Bill Wymann who were working class. When they played their music they sat down on the ground and played in a circle quietly playing the R & B music the Beatles were screechingly playing in Hamberg.
It wasn't until Brian Epstein took control of the Beatles management that he cleaned them up and dressed them in identical suits and reformed them into good, young men that the Beatles image changed, much to their chagrin. Andrew Oldham, a very young man who had picked up his experience managing bands by picking the brains of some of the best in the business such as Phil Spector dressed the Stones in identical suits just like all the other bands were wearing and sent them to America on a tour with other bands. The Stones hated the suits and treated them like crap. Richards got pudding on him as well as whiskey. Soon Mick was chewing gum on stage and the band looked a mess. Then came an interview where they only answered with "yeah" and "no", coming off as surly. The teens loved it and Oldham saw an opportunity. He encouraged the Stones to be even more rude and crude and he'd sell them as the anti-Beatles. By the time the Beatles played in America on the Ed Sullivan show he made the famous remark "Would you want your daughter to date a Rolling Stone?"
McMillian does a marvelous job of exploring the lives of the Beatles and the Stones and how they intersected. He also includes chapters on how political the Beatles and Stones really were and how they were seen to be, and how they shared a financial manager that didn't go so well. The Beatles envied the Stone's freedom to act however they wanted and to dress however they wanted and the Stones envied the Beatle's success. During the Sixties, the Beatles outsold the Stones massively. This book is not for the fan who knows everything already but for those with a casual knowledge or none at all. I found it fascinating as I only had sketchy information on the two bands' personal lives. I learned a lot. I give it a four out of five stars.
Quotes
“The Beatles want to hold your hand,” journalist Tom
Wolfe once quipped, “but the Stones want to burn down your town.”
-John McMillian (Beatles Vs Stones p 3)
May years later, though, when he had no need to belie this
true feelings, he [Sean O’Mahony] summed
up the two groups this way: “The Beatles were thugs who were put across
as nice blokes , and the Rollings Stones were gentlemen who were made into
thugs by Andrew.”
=John McMillian (Beatles Vs Stones p 9)
Asked about “Street Fighting Man” being boycotted by
Chicago radio stations, Jagger mused, “They must think a song can make a
revolution. I wish it could.”
-John McMillian (Beatles Vs Stones p 184)
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