Keith and Mick.
Jagger/Richards.
The Glimmer Twins.
Whatever you call them, the pairing of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones now have another title to live up to: “Rock’s Greatest Feud Of All Time.”
Rolling Stone magazine recently published their list of the “11 Greatest Rock Feuds Of All Time,” highlighting some of the most legendary – and public – battles in music.
Greatest Rock Feuds Of All Time
Rolling Stone magazine (2010)
01 – Keith Richards and Mick Jagger / The Rolling Stones
02 – Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
03 – Aerosmith: The American Idol Meltdown
04 – Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend / The Who
05 – Ray and Dave Davies / The Kinks
06 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney / The Beatles
07 – David Gilmour and Roger Waters / Pink Floyd
08 – Don and Phil Everly / The Everly Brothers
09 – Noel and Liam Gallagher / Oasis
10 – Axl Rose and Slash / Guns N’ Roses
11 – Van Halen: One Night Reunion Goes Bad
Mick and Keith topped the list, an especially easy choice following the release of Keith Richard’s autobiography, “Life,” where the guitarist took swipes at Jagger while sharing his side of the story.
Simon and Garfunkel at #2 may surprise some who aren’t familiar with the easy-going music partnership’s lengthy and strained history. Rolling Stone references a particularly low point in the mid 1980's when Simon erased Garfunkel's vocals from a planned reunion disc and released it as a solo set.
At #3, the Aerosmith “American Idol” feud is so new, strong and visible, that I think it’s actually too early to tell which way that scene is going to play out. Sure, Perry and Tyler have a long history of issues, but Rolling Stone has based this position on the Idol debate only.
This type of thing happens frequently with lists, and especially with Rolling Stone lists: a current event is flavor-of-the-week and soaking up the spotlight, which tends to blur the editors view of its rightful place in history. I reference Rolling Stone’s "Greatest Guitarist" list of 2003 as a comparable example: Jack White lands at #17 while Eddie Van Halen sits at #70 on the all-time list. Ridiculous.
Beyond the top three, I doubt there’s many surprises on the list for most people, as these have all been highly visible and documented through the years.
Interesting to note that 4 of the 11 include family members (The Kinks, The Everly Brothers, Oasis and Van Halen), while a case could be made that the other 7 scraps felt like they were with family…as many bands outlive member’s personal relationships.
The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Shine A Light DVD
Beacon Theatre – New York, NY – 2006
