The Reasons These Rock Legends Hated The Rolling Stones

Published Mar 23, 2023 By Dowell De Los Reyes

The Rolling Stones headline on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival 2013, Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset (Photo by Anthony Devlin/PA Images via Getty Images)

The Rolling Stones have been one of the most successful bands in the history of rock and roll, selling millions of records and entertaining millions of fans worldwide. However, despite their massive popularity, some of their fellow musicians didn’t think much of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and the rest of the band. Here are some of the reasons why some rock legends hated The Rolling Stones.

John Lennon

John Lennon was one of the musicians who disliked The Rolling Stones, at least for a while. Despite Paul McCartney’s claim that the media manufactured the rivalry between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, John had no love lost for the latter. In 1971, he famously said that Jagger was a joke, as were his attempts at acting, and that the Stones were not in the same class as The Beatles. However, the relationship between John and Mick eventually thawed.

Ginger Baker

Ginger Baker, the drummer of Cream, hated almost every band that became bigger than his. He went so far as to say that every member of The Rolling Stones except Charlie Watts was not a good musician. While classic rock fans may not agree with his assessment, it’s clear that he didn’t have much respect for the band.

Lemmy Kilmister

Lemmy Kilmister, the bassist and frontman of Motörhead, had a love-hate relationship with The Rolling Stones. While he grew up listening to and finding inspiration from both the Stones and The Beatles, he called the Stones a bunch of “mummy’s boys” who manufactured hardship, as opposed to The Beatles, who grew up in tough Liverpool neighborhoods.