The 1960s was a decade of lines in the sand. You were either a Beatles person or a Stones person. Clean-cut harmonies or grimy rhythm and blues. It was a marketing masterclass that fueled record sales for years, but the truth is way more boring and way more interesting all at once. John Lennon and Mick Jagger weren't actually enemies. They weren't even really rivals in the way the tabloids wanted them to be.
They were just two guys at the top of a very small, very weird mountain.
Back in 1963, the Rolling Stones were struggling. They were a club band with a decent following but no real "hit" to get them over the hump. In a move that would be unthinkable for "rivals" today, John and Paul McCartney basically handed them their first big success. They walked into a studio where the Stones were rehearsing and finished writing "I Wanna Be Your Man" right in front of them. Honestly, that’s how the whole relationship started—not with a fight, but with a gift.
The Secret Social Life of Rock Royalty
While the press was busy asking who would win in a "battle of the bands," Lennon and Jagger were busy hanging out at the Ad Lib club in London. They’d drink, they’d talk about business, and they’d laugh at the headlines. John once admitted that the rivalry was basically a "joke" and "good for business." They were essentially the only two people who understood what it was like to have their lives upended by global fame.
There’s this famous photo from 1967 at Abbey Road Studios. You see John and Mick sitting together, looking totally relaxed during the "All You Need Is Love" broadcast. Mick wasn't there as a spectator; he was actually singing backup in the chorus. If you listen closely to the fade-out, you're hearing the two biggest icons of the era shouting "Love is all you need" into the same microphone.
It wasn’t all sunshine, though. Lennon had a famously sharp tongue. He could be incredibly cynical about Mick’s "stage persona." In a 1970 interview with Rolling Stone, John went on a bit of a tear, calling the Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request a rip-off of Sgt. Pepper. He had a point—the cover art alone was pretty suspiciously similar. John was protective of the Beatles' legacy, and he didn't like anyone stepping on his toes. But even after those public jabs, they still found their way back to each other.
The Lost Weekend and the "Too Many Cooks" Mystery
Fast forward to the early '70s. John is in Los Angeles, separated from Yoko Ono, in a period he called his "Lost Weekend." This is when things got really chummy between him and Mick. They weren't just colleagues anymore; they were drinking buddies in the "Hollywood Vampires" crew.
Did you know they actually recorded a song together that stayed hidden for decades?
In 1974, John produced a track for Mick called "Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)." It’s a funky cover of a Willie Dixon blues song. John played guitar, Mick sang, and Ringo Starr was on drums. For almost thirty years, this recording was a myth. People thought it was just a drug-fueled jam that never went anywhere. Then, in 2003, a London record store owner found an unlabeled acetate in a box he bought for twenty bucks. Mick eventually verified it was the real deal. It’s a raw, loose recording that captures exactly what their friendship felt like at the time: talented, chaotic, and totally unpretentious.
Why the Relationship Eventually Faded
Things changed when John went back to Yoko and moved into the Dakota in New York. He entered his "househusband" phase, pulling away from the rock and roll lifestyle. Mick would still be in the neighborhood—he lived right nearby for a while—and he’d leave notes for John at the front desk. "I know you don't want to see anyone, but if you do, please call," one note reportedly said.
John never called.
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Mick later reflected on this with a bit of sadness. He felt like he’d "lost a friend" to John's new life. It wasn't a fallout or a big dramatic argument; it was just life moving in different directions. Lennon became obsessed with his private world, and Mick was still out there being the world's biggest rock star.
The complexity of John Lennon and Mick Jagger is that they were mirrors for each other. John was the intellectual who wanted to burn everything down; Mick was the businessman who wanted to keep the show on the road. They admired each other's strengths and were deeply annoyed by each other's weaknesses.
When John was killed in 1980, Mick was devastated. He didn't just lose a peer; he lost the only person who could tell him when he was being an idiot. Jagger has spent the last forty years occasionally talking about those "good times," and you can tell he misses the sarcasm. John was the only guy who could shut him up.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to hear the actual chemistry between these two, don't just look at the photos. Go find the "Too Many Cooks" track on YouTube—it was finally released on Mick’s Very Best of Mick Jagger compilation. You can hear John’s specific, chunky guitar style locked in with Mick’s vocals. It’s the best evidence we have of what happened when the two leaders of the British Invasion finally stopped competing and just played.
Also, if you're a fan of the "rivalry," check out the 1968 film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. John performs "Yer Blues" with a supergroup featuring Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, and the way he and Mick interact on camera is the ultimate "behind the scenes" look at their real vibe.