“They’re so disparate”: Mick Jagger’s four all-time musical heroes
While it can be argued that many bands who emerged in the 1960s were somewhat indebted to the rock and roll explosion of the previous decade, very few wore that influence on their sleeves quite as much as The Rolling Stones did. There’s no denying that Mick Jagger and Co were intentionally expanding upon the work of their forefathers in their early years, and while they would eventually blossom into being a band that had a variety of other influences coming into play, they continued to proudly continue the legacy of the acts that had come before them.
The guitar tones and playing style of Keith Richards are perhaps some of the most prominent features that borrow from the past, with minimal effects and simple yet powerful structures being the order of the day in all of his compositions. He himself has often credited the likes of Chuck Berry, BB King and Elmore James as being among his favourite players of all time, and much of his work in the earliest years of the Stones was clearly modelled on his love for these guitar icons.
However, Jagger’s voice has always had this bluesy rasp to it that is equally akin to the trailblazers of the previous decade, always looking to replicate the bombastic howls of the likes of Little Richard and Howlin’ Wolf while adding his own charming British spin on the work of his American idols. The Stones weren’t just copycats of the rock and roll stars of the past but were bringing new life to the genre and attempting to help strengthen its legacy.
While the two aforementioned names may have been huge points of reference for Jagger’s vocal styles, neither of them are who he’d call his ‘musical heroes’. In a 2001 interview with Mojo, Jagger was asked to pick one person he would bestow this honour upon, but he struggled to choose between four icons who so strongly inspired him.
“It’s hard to pick a hero of mine because they’re so disparate,” Jagger expressed to the magazine. “There’s Buddy Holly, there was Muddy Waters… There was Elvis, I suppose, though he was so ghastly in other ways and you somehow knew it.” However, he would go on to lower Elvis’ estimation on the grounds that he wasn’t a songwriter and, therefore, didn’t have the same impact as others did in how they influenced his songwriting style.
With his fourth and final selection, Jagger would go into much more detailed praise, suggesting that he had a particular affinity for his work. “Chuck Berry was a very good inspiration because he was a writer and a performer and a guitar player,” Jagger explained. “He doesn’t perhaps have the depth that you might say Muddy Waters had, or the purity – he could be trivial in some ways – but I guess when you’re a teenager that’s all right.”
He would continue to be effusive in his adoration for Berry, praising him as not just a lyricist but a performer and guitarist. “He was a good player but his style was easy to copy,” the singer attested, “Which is what you want when you’re learning.” While many others may also cite Berry as being their idol, it’s clear from Jagger’s enthusiasm that he stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries by his estimation.
