“A real disappointment”: the music legend Mick Jagger refused to meet
For many aspiring musicians, their biggest heroes seem to be more than rock and roll stars. These were the modern versions of superheroes for them whenever they listened to one of their records, and even if not every song resonated with them, it was always a thrill seeing them getting up onstage and bringing the best show they could to every audience. Mick Jagger may fill that void for legions of aspiring rock frontmen, but he knew enough to know that the phrase “never meet your heroes” existed for a reason.
But looking at where The Rolling Stones went after their humble beginnings, it wasn’t hard to see them working through some of the greatest blues singers in their wake. While they had come out far too late after Robert Johnson’s passing, hearing them play alongside acts like Muddy Waters endeared them to the blues acts that had taught them everything they knew back in the day.
However, the blues were always a small part of what they could do. The Stones were always the epitome of a rock and roll band, and that meant catering to everyone from Chuck Berry to The Everly Brothers whenever they played. Then again, those came with their own fair share of horror stories.
Whereas Keith Richards had to see one of his dear friends, Gram Parsons, pass away, the most disheartening thing would have been working alongside Berry. Anyone christened the father of rock and roll was bound to be a bucket list choice for anyone. Still, when working together in the 1980s, Richards remembered it getting ugly really fast, even managing to get hit by the guitar legend when he made an attempt to touch his guitar.
Then again, anyone from The Stones’s generation would be knelt at the altar of Elvis Presley. Even if there were more exciting acts out at the time, there was no way Jagger was going to be an all-star frontman without Presley blowing down the doors by playing tunes like ‘Baby Let’s Play House’ and ‘All Shook Up’ during his prime.
When it came for him to meet ‘The King,’ Jagger remembered being talked out of hanging out with his hero, saying, “I never met Elvis either, because John Lennon once told me he was a real disappointment. So I said I’d take his advice because I’d already had it with Chuck Berry, and I didn’t want it to happen again with Elvis. Though now, of course, I wish I had met Elvis, you know what I mean? You never think, ‘Oh, he’s gonna die soon, I’d better hurry up and meet him.’”
At the same time, Presley had already undergone a transformation for years when Jagger had the opportunity. He had come back from the Army a changed man, and even if he still had that undeniable voice, it wasn’t all that important when he was making some of the most embarrassing movies that any rockstar had been associated with.
Even if he could still deliver ‘An American Trilogy’ when he performed live, The Stones’ dangerous side on Goats Head Soup and Presley’s Vegas residency felt like two different genres of music altogether by that point. No one knew that his time was running short, but the days of the rebellious teenager who cranked out ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’ were forever gone.
