The Beatles songs that feature members of The Rolling Stones
As two of the most celebrated bands of the 1960s, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were bound to cross paths from time to time. They both lived in London back when it was still swinging, and they spent a lot of time hanging around the same bars, venues and recording studios.
“That was a great period,” John Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1970. “We were like kings of the jungle then, and we were very close to the Stones. I don’t know how close the others were but I spent a lot of time with Brian and Mick. I admire them, you know. I dug them… I spent a lot of time with them, and it was great.”
Both bands were at the height of their fame. The world was theirs, and they were determined to enjoy it. When not zooming around London, they were mingling with other notable members of the London music scene and even taking the odd LSD-inspired trip to Lyme Regis. They even had a few chances to record with one another.
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones are frequently remembered as rivals, but they were also friends and collaborators. Here, we’ll be looking at three songs that feature members of the Stones, all of which were released as B-sides between 1966 and 1970.
The Beatles songs that feature members of The Rolling Stones:
‘Yellow Submarine’ – Revolver
The first is ‘Yellow Submarine’. Released as a single in 1966 on The Beatles’ Revolver album, it was regarded as a throw-away by many Beatles fans, though its whimsical, sing-along melodies now seem to encapsulate the nostalgic pastoralism of the psychedelic era. “I remember lying in bed one night, in that moment before you’re falling asleep,” Paul McCartney recalls in Anthology, “that little twilight moment when a silly idea comes into your head – and thinking of ‘Yellow Submarine’: ‘We all live in a yellow submarine…’
Once Lennon and McCartney had fleshed-out Paul’s initial idea, they took it to Abbey Road, where they enlisted Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones as a backing vocalist. As well as adding depth to the vocals, Brian created the clinking glass sound. Brian wasn’t the only one invited to get involved. Pattie Boyd, Marianne Faithfull, road managers Neil Aspinall and Mal Evan, and The Beatles driver, Alf Bicknell, can also be heard whistling, singing and generally giving life to this rambunctious B-side.
‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)’ – Let It Be
A year later, The Beatles reunited with Jones to record their ‘Let It Be’ B-side ‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)’. Like ‘Yellow Submarine’, it’s got a touch of the classic comedy record about it, though its structure is one of the most experimental in The Beatles catalogue. “John had arrived one night with this song which was basically a mantra: ‘You know my name, look up the number,'” Paul McCartney told Many Years From Now author Barry Miles. “And I never knew who he was aiming that at, it might have been an early signal to Yoko. It was John’s original idea, and that was the complete lyric. He brought it in originally as a 15-minute chant when he was in space-cadet mode, and we said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with this then?’ and he said, ‘It’s just like a mantra.’ So we said, ‘Okay, let’s just do it’”
Recorded in 1967, ‘You Know My Name’ features Brian Jones playing an instrument he’s not often associated with: the saxophone. Apparently, The Beatles had no idea Jones was going to bring his sax to the studio. He was a pretty “ropey” player, apparently, but he played well enough to be featured on the track. Thankfully, nobody was taking the track particularly seriously anyway. “It was going to be a Four Tops kind of song – the chord changes are like that – but it never developed and we made a joke of it,” Lennon told David Sheff. “Brian Jones is playing saxophone on it.”
‘Baby You’re A Rich Man’ – Magical Mystery Tour
That same year, The Beatles travelled to Olympic Studios to record their first song outside Abbey Road: ‘Baby You’re A Rich Man’. Two unfinished song fragments stitched together, this Magical Mystery Tour cut was recorded in a single day and released as the B-side to ‘All You Need Is Love’. “That’s a combination of two separate pieces, Paul’s and mine, put together and forced into one song,” Lennon told David Sheff. “One half was all mine. [Sings] ‘How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people, now that you know who you are, da da da da.’ Then Paul comes in with [sings] ‘Baby, you’re a rich man,’ which was a lick he had around.”
The Beatles just so happened to be in Olympic the same day as The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, who was present for the recording. His name is even featured on one of the tape boxes from the session, suggesting that he contributed backing vocals to the track. It’s not obvious if he’s singing or not, but we like to think old Mick’s in there somewhere.
‘All You Need is Love’ – Magical Mystery Tour
As one might imagine, the A-side, ‘All You Need Is Love,’ also featured a stone or two. In fact, it featured a whole host of rock and roll’s current monarchy. Written by Lennon for the noted Our World broadcast, the recording encapsulated everything that The Beatles were trying to be. Starr said of the song: “We were big enough to command an audience of that size, and it was for love. It was for love and bloody peace. It was a fabulous time. I even get excited now when I realise that’s what it was for: peace and love, people putting flowers in guns.”
As well as Pattie Boyd, Jane Asher, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon and Marianne Faithfull helping with chorus vocals, the song also featured Mick Jagger and Keith Richards adding their singing chops to proceedings.
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