Mick Jagger Says The Rolling Stones Had To Be A ‘Pop Band’ After The Beatles’ Sudden Explode

In the second episode of the BBC documentary ‘My Life As A Rolling Stone,’ Mick Jagger talked about the need to transition from blues to pop to The Rolling Stones to keep up with the sudden rise of The Beatles.

The Rolling Stones have been in the industry for sixty years, during which they released countless chart hits and traveled the globe for their tours. They managed to establish their sound, name, and style worldwide. They are one of the oldest rock and roll bands to perform still.

Although they originally started as a blues band, they changed their sound after the sudden rise of The Beatles. After seeing that people liked The Beatles’ original songs, they wanted to make their music in terms of songwriting radio-friendly tracks. Realizing they wanted the same recognition, Richards was keen to switch genres to pop.

Recently, Mick Jagger stated that they were envious of The Beatles when they suddenly became very popular. Keith Richards was particularly obsessed with their sound. He added that although we were a blues band after The Beatles, with Richards’ push, they turned into a pop band to stay relevant in the spotlight.

Mick Jagger’s thoughts on The Rolling Stones’ transition to being a pop group:

“The Beatles suddenly explode, and there you are going: ‘Oh, yeah, but we’re a blues band! The Beatles changed this whole thing. Keith, he’d play The Beatles all the time. It’d drive me absolutely batty! Why he was playing The Beatles wasn’t because he didn’t want to listen to anything else. Keith wanted to write these pop songs. We were undeniably the blues band, but we knew we had to be a pop band.”

To celebrate their 60th anniversary of being together as a band, The Rolling Stones launched their summer European tour. Though the band lost their beloved drummer Charlie Watts, they continued playing with the blessing of their late bandmate before his passing.