May 2, 2018

"All 214 Artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ranked From Best to Worst."

By the rock critic (not the musician) Bill Wyman.

It's an amusing read if you're not the sort of person who gets steamed because your opinions are not shared. I mean, he puts Queen second to last, beating only Bon Jovi, but he states his reasons.

When popularity is factored in, Queen is the most overrated band in the history of pop music. This preposterous aggregation looked and sounded awful from the beginning, their music a pastiche of pastiches of things no one in the band were inclined to understand, all of it culminating in “We Will Rock You.” Queen haters love to say the song is appropriate for a Nuremburg rally, but you can also sort of see Leni Riefenstahl giving it a listen, cocking her head and saying, “Nein. A little too much.” Their popularity in the U.S. went down quickly after their heyday, but they remained unaccountable super-duper-stars in the U.K. and in time became the rock equivalent to the beloved ugly toy you had when you grew up. Docked 30 notches because of this: After the band’s closeted lead singer, Freddie Mercury, died of AIDS, the entire rock universe held a televised tribute show, broadcast on MTV, during which mentions of homosexuality and AIDS were kept closely under wraps. The band (and everyone else at the show) let a new generation of vulnerable kids — and thousands of the unloved, dying alone on the streets — know that, yes, they should be ashamed of who they are. Thirty years earlier, the Lovin’ Spoonful, in one of the best songs about rock and roll, captured it this way: “Believe in the magic that can set you free.” By that wholly credible standard, Queen aren’t rock and roll at all and don’t belong in the hall of fame.

80 comments:

Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

Like some cat from Japan, Spinal Tap was big in Japan.

Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

Last I heard the real Bill Wyman was selling metal detectors.

Oh Yea said...

"...the band’s closeted lead singer, Freddie Mercury..."?

Funny, a friend told to me in 1974 when "Killer Queen" was on the charts the significance of the band name "Queen". So it was never a secret to me.

Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

Detecting with Bill

I have made listicals of colors, tree leaf shapes and ant species, Ranked from Best to Worst, but I'd never do it with music or musicians because there's no accounting for taste.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

listicles duh.

Clyde said...

One man's meat is another homme's poisson. Or something like that.

Rigelsen said...

So, he “docked [Queen] 30 notches” for an editorial decision that had nothing to do with their music. Noted. If this is at all representative of the rest of Wyman’s ranking, it would suggest the ranking is more based on his personal pieties than musical value. If so, why should anyone who doesn’t believe exactly the same things he does even care?

Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

"We Won't Rock You"

wsw said...

Former Chicago Sun-Times critic Bill (no relation) Wyman also put his name on a 2017 list of “All Beatles songs ranked.”
That list was so startlingly shitty one can only wonder how he'll top it here. -SW

Limited blogger said...

The guy disses the RNRHOF for existing, since its not "Rock 'n' Roll" to have a HOF. I agree with this.

Then he proceeds to rank the 214 inductees? That's even less RNR.



readering said...

Some much more controversial choices than Queen on this list. As long as Beatles no lower than second from top . . . .

Achilles said...

176. Metallica — Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Ulrich (2009)
These guys are knuckleheads, particularly the drummer, but they were a pioneering speed-metal outfit, for whatever that illustrious music’s worth. I’ve always thought the band deserved a little more credit for not being particularly repulsive on the subject of women.


This is going to force me to go up the list and look for rappers and rapists.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Oh Yeah, I agree. Who didn't know the band called "Queen" and wore drag in a video was gay.

This critic has a hair crossways. AIDS was called the "gay plague." No secret about that either.

Freeman Hunt said...

Artists Ranked By My Politics

Wince said...

Wyman tries to explain his specific ranking criteria:

The rankings are made on the basis of the appropriateness of each artist’s induction, not their baseline quality or my personal fondness for the artists in question. In other words, was the act influential? Were they the first? Are they simply brilliant at whatever it is they do? Those to me are considerations that make for a hall of fame band. (There are a few bands I personally like a lot on the bottom half of the list.) I have one further criterion, too: Was their career worthy of being in a hall of fame? There are some acts, a few fairly influential, whom I’ve downgraded, basically for being dinks. You may disagree, but it’s my list.

SteveR said...

“closeted” ? Dude’s not very observant. Kinda like finding out Liberace was gay. Here’s my shocked face. The R&R HoF is a joke anyway.@

Limited blogger said...

Ranked the Clash #17. Higher than I expected, but not high enough.

Oso Negro said...

The list is not all rock and roll. It throws in soul, folk, jazz, and reggae. You may love Miles Davis, but he is NOT rock and roll.

Oso Negro said...

@Limited The Cash? Meh.

Limited blogger said...

Oso! the Clash WERE Rock and Roll!

Achilles said...

Wow this guy is a hater.

Sebastian said...

"rock’s sense of itself, creating a foundation for the music — tied to a better world and the promise of America"

That is "rock's sense of itself"??

FWBuff said...

Hall & Oates is in the RR Hall of Fame, but not the Carpenters?! Bah!

Achilles said...

"Answerable to nobody, as rectitudinous an artist as soft rock has produced. Still, while there are a few nice songs in his oeuvre (besides the hits he’s known for) he is not a person of particular substance."

A journalist posted this little bit of hate.

dwarzel said...

1) "Closeted"? Maybe if you're blind and deaf.

2) "the entire rock universe held a televised tribute show, broadcast on MTV, during which mentions of homosexuality and AIDS were kept closely under wraps"

Baloney. I've got the thing on VHS--the original broadcast from 1992. They mention AIDS numerous times. In fact, the whole show comes to a screeching halt while Elizabeth Taylor of all people makes a speech about AIDS.

I'm increasingly amazed at how many professional writers are willing to rely uncritically on their own faulty memories. Research, guys.

stevew said...

Come on. How do you distinguish between the last and the second to last? I can't even make a choice between numbers 2 & 3. It's subjective, put them in any order you like. There is no right and wrong, for you.

-sw

Mark said...

Why man? is an idiot. Freddie Mercury was one of the truly greats and died far too young.

mezzrow said...

Next he'll be teaching a seminar on how to generate free-association listicals that generate clicks and build value for advertisers.

It's a living.

MikeD said...

When he states "When popularity is factored in, Queen is the most overrated band in the history of pop music" I know it's all BS. The most overrated band in the history of music has to be the crapfest known as the Grateful Dead.

Humperdink said...

Sad state of affairs when I do not recognize some of the names in the RNRHOF.

Mark said...

OK, zipping through the first 50 on the list -- I don't care to bother going further -- one, does this guy even know what rock music is? or "rock and roll"? Two, his taste in music sucks. In fact, many of the people/groups in that top 50 do not even qualify as music.

It's like reading the crappy lists they do over at PJ Media.

Achilles said...

And how the fuck is a band named "QUEEN" closeted?

Was the guy making a joke?

...

Mark said...

And it wasn't only Freddy Mercury who was a genius. Brian May is one in his own right, with a PhD in astrophysics and was a collaborator on NASA missions.

Dave in Tucson said...

The difference between a rock critic and a bag of manure is that eventually the bag of manure will be empty.

Jake said...

He’s kind of an idiot.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

The most overrated band in history has to be the Beatles.

rhhardin said...

I couldn't offhand name a single rock artist.

Lots of people I've heard of but don't know which would be rock artists.

Birkel said...

The bottom of his list is silly. He didn't like Journey and Chicago? Who cares? This dude thinks music has to be serious and deep but people buy what they like.

Also, serious and deep is defined by what this yahoo prefers.

Music guy makes too much of music. News at 11.

Tank said...

The Beatles are underrated.

Yes, they are.

Limited blogger said...

So it was Chuck Berry, not Marty McFly who invented Rock 'n' Roll?

chickelit said...

I’d rather read anything from Bill Wyman (the musician) than from this crank.

rcocean said...

#45 Johnny Cash. What the Hey! When was Cash a "Rock n' Roller"?

Same is true of Bob dylan. All his good stuff is NOT Rock n Roll.

Agree that Chuck Berry should be #1

Fabi said...

Queen produced plenty of excellent music. Whinerman is an ass.

rcocean said...

I always thought READING about Rock'n'Roll rather silly. But peeps can write 20 page analyses of a Comic Book.

Bill Peschel said...

"Overrated?" Queen was one of the most hated popular bands at Rolling Stone. They certainly didn't like "News of the World."

One reason is that Queen went their own way. They drew on multiple musical traditions for their songs: rock, heavy metal, English music hall, even Arabic for "Mustapha."

Fortunately, he can't try to damage them. They still have their fans, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" is still in the culture. There was footage recently of a Green Day concert in which they had BR playing during the pre-show. The audience rocked Hyde Park.

rcocean said...

I like Queen for Flash Gordon.

rcocean said...

Beach Boys were great too. Gave the Beatles a run for their money - for a brief time - in the 60s.

Lennon thought "Good Vibrations" was very good.

Bill Peschel said...

Wish I could remember the line, but Dave Barry said the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be the kind of place that the neighbors have to call the police on. Instead, it's a tomb.

Earnest Prole said...

The most interesting thing in the piece is where he lists "in rough order . . . the acts that should be in the hall but aren’t, all based on those sliding matrices of influence, importance, and quality."

Radiohead
Todd Rundgren
Roxy Music
Warren Zevon
The Go-Go’s
Lonnie Donegan
KC & the Sunshine Band
Joy Division/New Order
Ian Hunter/Mott the Hoople
Kraftwerk
War
Jonathan Richman
Willie Nelson
The New York Dolls
The Doobie Brothers
X
George Michael
The Jam
Graham Parker
Los Lobos

rcocean said...

"Wish I could remember the line, but Dave Barry said the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be the kind of place that the neighbors have to call the police on. Instead, it's a tomb."

Its a great line - but its 2018. Grandma and Grandpa are "Rock and Rollers".

Caldwell P. Titcomb IV said...

Bill Peschel said...
Dave Barry


"That is why I am still baffled by the fact that the Rock Bottom Remainders were invited to perform as part of the ceremonies surrounding the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Specifically, we were asked to perform at the big gala Friday-night dinner party to benefit the Hall. This made no sense. Having the Rock Bottom Remainders perform on behalf of music is like having Mike Tyson teach a course on dating etiquette.
...
She was so excited about getting David Birney's autograph that she failed to notice that the person she was returning the pen to was: Stephen King.

I started to feel like a real rock musician on Wednesday night, when we rode back from the ballpark to the hotel in a limo. The driver informed me -- I swear I am not making this up -- that I was sitting in the exact same seat where Courtney Love once threw up.
...
And thus I, a humor columnist, had to stand there in a motor home and tell a world-class rock musician -- a musician who, the next night, would be on stage playing with Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis -- that, hey, thanks for the offer, but we can only use you on one song.

As it turned out, our performance went well. The crowd -- perhaps this is an indication of how much drug usage really goes on in the music industry -- actually seemed to like us. People clapped and danced and sang along, screaming "WILD THING!" when we play Wild Thing, and "LOUIE! LOUIE!" when we played Louie, Louie (not that there is, technically, any difference between these songs)."

Pugsley the Pug said...

I agree with Gene Simmons of KISS and Steve Miller ( God-son of the legendary Les Paul, who helped lay the foundations of Rock and Roll with his technical innovations on the electric guitar) - Rap / Hip Hop artists have no place in the R ‘n’R HOF as it is a totally different genre of music invented several decades after R ‘n’ R. Those artists are taking spots on the HOF ballots that should go to deserving Rock artists who are currently left out. They can get their own HOF if they want recognition...

SF said...

The thing is, ranking Queen #200-something is basically just screaming, "I'M A MASSIVE TROLL! CLICK ON MY LINK!"

I mean, if you had any doubt he's just trolling, his comments about the (official name) "Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness" going out of its way to hide mention of AIDS are pretty conclusive.

Birkel said...

Some of the acts listed should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Pretty Good and Who Sold a Lot of Records.

I understand the Beatles were a thing. But they never translated, to me. I grant their influence but, meh?

Influence is a bizarre standard. It makes older acts rank more highly.

Beethoven #1

bagoh20 said...

How can you measure how right he is about these? Personally, I give him a solid 50/100 (50% correct).

bagoh20 said...

If you're gonna put Flavor Flav on the list, you might as well put him at the top.

Phil 314 said...

I got down to #70.

Eh, some guys opinion.

I would have put The Who much higher.

Tommy Duncan said...

The Everly Brothers at #62? I call BS.

Mark said...

If you're gonna put Flavor Flav on the list, you might as well put J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Hildegard of Bingen . . .

Sally327 said...

I think you just have to watch the Queen set at Live Aid in 1985 to understand why they belong in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Freddie Mercury was an incredible live performer, he totally controlled this huge crowd.

I'm surprised Wyman doesn't mention the heat Queen took for performing in South Africa during apartheid. I wonder how much being sufficiently woke will influence the decision on who gets in now. Kanye I'm looking at you.

D 2 said...

Do I need to check the list to question my own confirmation bias?
(Checks list)
Yep! Biases confirmed! Unnecessary contempt for a stranger flowing. Negativity over ridiculousness generated. And it's not politics or some societal matter this time! Its a mid to late 20th century pop music HOF list! Hooray for the internet!

I agree with upthread. No need for a HOF.

There was Walter and John, Katie and Ron
We all hung around the corner lamplight
Get together, sing some songs
Like Boppin' the Blues - You make me feel alright...
That was long before fortune and fame
No such thing as a star when we played that game
Everyone knew who everyone was
There was no Pretense in the street no, no
When you were young. So young (so very very young...)
And the street only knew your name.

Thats #23 right there btw.

Mark said...

O virga ac diadema and more, Hildegard von Bingen, written in mid 1100s.

robother said...

It looks like you qualify for the Rock und Roll HOF if you once sang a song that had either the word "rock" or the word "roll" in it. (And I'm not real sure even that standard would apply to Nina Simone or Johnny Cash.) Joni Mitchell sang a song about a Rock n Roll concert; but that doesn't make her a Rock N Roller, does it?

And where's the love for one hit wonders? Inna Gadda Davida, Baby.

William said...

The list is idiosyncratic but so is inclusion in the Hall. There's a time frame of about fifteen or twenty years when you're knowledgeable about or, at least, familiar with current music. Then you develop an interest in Frank Sinatra or Mozart and no longer care about what those stupid kids are playing way too loud......I'm disappointed Herman's Hermits didn't make it. Some of their songs rival those of Freddy & The Dreamers. A lot of pop music you bond with simply because that was the background music when you were having a good time......I'm glad he said something disparaging about The Doors. I liked them when I was younger, but the music hasn't aged well. Too portentous. Like me back then. I'd rate The Beach Boys and Abba higher. They're not portentous.

Robert said...

It's strange he downgrades NWA for stuff beyond their music, like Dr. Dre assaulting women and his opinion that the event that reportedly inspired "F*** Tha Police" wasn't a legit example of police abuse but something they brought on themselves for driving around shooting paintballs at random people.

I'm pretty sure several of the artists he ranked near the top have assaulted people and committed domestic violence. Didn't James Brown beat his wife?
And he himself calls "Fuck Tha Police" a great song but suggests it's somehow less great because he sympathizes with the police in the incident that prompted the group to write it. Should that matter? The song is about how they felt and those feelings probably had built up over a long time, not just over one incident. And lots of people related to it. Isn't that all that matters? Hasn't the song's greatness only increased over time, as the group was raising an issue that wasn't yet being talked about much?
He also downgrades NWA because Ice Cube wrote a possibly anti-Semitic lyric on a solo album. Why would NWA be dinged for material released by a member of the group after he went solo?

And, if that's his criteria, how come he ranks Public Enemy so high when they had a huge anti-Semitic problem? He mentions a little of it, but ignores that Chuck D used Public Enemy to promote two of the biggest anti-Semites and racists in America: Louis Farrakhan and Khalid Muhammad. Public Enemy presented Farrakhan as a "prophet' of God, and Chuck D to this day praises him and Khalid on Twitter. Khalid Muhammad was such a hardcore racist and anti-Semite that even Farrakhan had to distance himself from him!

Chuck D has never evolved as a person, but Dr. Dre and Ice Cube have, and they have both done lots of great things since NWA.

Mark said...

I'd rate The Beach Boys and ABBA higher.

And . . . ABBA is back in the studio with new songs, 35 years after they broke up after being the biggest act in the world for many years.

dustbunny said...

The Rolling Stones at #15?? I agree with the first five but no way is Led Zepplin more influential that Mick and Keith.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

"If I may use an expression which I have used many times before in this Court, it is like the thirteenth stroke of a crazy clock, which not only is itself discredited but casts a shade of doubt over all previous assertions."

I know the Beach Boys works better than any other groups, so when this guy says:

Compare Love’s “Little Deuce Coupe” with “Don’t Worry Baby,” which had an outside lyricist.

When in fact Roger Christian wrote the lyrics to both those songs, it brings all his other judgements into question.

And his larger point is specious anyway as Love wrote quite a few "sensitive" lyrics like "The Warmth Of The Sun", "Please Let Me Wonder" & "Kiss Me Baby" & "When I Grow Up".

Mark Daniels said...

For about 214 reasons, this list is incoherent.

mikee said...

In the Tokyo Hard Rock Cafe there used to be a glass-encased frilly shirt displayed. It had been worn by Meatloaf on stage for some famous concert.
My dining companion looked at it and said, "Just imagine how it smells."
Pretty much sums up Rock&Roll.

Bruce Gee said...

I managed to make it through the first hundred. Putting U2 in there put my off my oats. They should have been dumped into the middle of the lower half of the pack. And Tom Waits should have been much higher.

Unknown said...

This entire list had me laughing remembering a "Simpsons" episode where Bart is watching some red carpet thing or another and Blackwell pronouncing on the "horrors" that the women were wearing. Bart says, "Heh, Mr Blackwell. What a bitch!"

That is this entire article. The opening paragraph ...


There shouldn’t be a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The idea of a bunch of self-satisfied music-industry fat cats in tuxedos having rock stars assemble for a command performance in the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom once a year is precisely the sort of thing rock was created to be the antidote to. There is nothing less rock and roll than a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


...is followed by some of the most woke assholery ever. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shouldn't exist because the music is supposed to be somehow purely non-conformist, then why should The Eagles or the Red Hot Chili Peppers give sh*t one about what this guy thinks about how they treat women in their music? Being "woke" is the most conformist thing anyone can do in today's culture and yet, according to Wyman (who swears real R&R can't be conformist), you suck if you aren't.

Not to mention he is so obviously butt-hurt about bands that SHOULD be in the Hall but aren't. I went to a site that lists Radiohead's 20 best songs (the site's opinion, no doubt). I'd not ever heard ANY ONE of them. That doesn't necessarily disqualify them from the Hall(who am I after all), but Christ, this guy is a douche.

PM said...

I'm not sure about this list, but I know Dylan loved Ricky Nelson's voice.

Robert Cook said...

All those protesting so mightily over Freddie Mercury not being closeted because of the band's name should consider: the band is British, and "Queen" could be simply referencing the Queen of England, and, "closeted" does not mean that one cannot perceive that a person is or may be gay, but that the person him/herself does not publicly disclose or acknowledge being gay. Mercury did not.

Robert Cook said...

Those protesting that many artists listed here are not rock 'n roll are correct; however, these are the artists who have been voted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. They are not Wyman's choices or candidates to be enshrined; this is merely his ranking of their relative worth and qualification to be in the Hall.

Robert Cook said...

"Beach Boys were great too. Gave the Beatles a run for their money - for a brief time - in the 60s.

"Lennon thought 'Good Vibrations' was very good."


Shit...they made Sgt. Pepper's as a response to the Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS, which they thought was awesome and a challenge they had to surpass.

They didn't.

Roger Sweeny said...

Same is true of Bob dylan. All his good stuff is NOT Rock n Roll.

I see you've never heard "Like A Rolling Stone." Or listened to any of the live shows from the 1966 European tour.

Topazthecat said...

Bill Wyman is so right about what he said about Queen being so overrated.



On acclaimedmusic.net which ranks music artists based on how much critical acclaim their music has received by all different music critics from decades,The Beatles are ranked # 1.The only Queen songs that I have heard that are just good not great is Killer Queen
and Your My Best Friend, I can't stand We will Rock You,We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody they are so annoying and obnoxious.




http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/The%20Beatles.htmhttp://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/The%20Beatles.htm









Queen is appropriately rated # 80.






http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/Queen.htm








As The 1992 Rolling Stone Album Guide who gave every Queen album only 2 and 3 stars,only their Greatest Hits they gave a 3 and half to,they accurately described Queen as having bombastic schlock rock hits and said even their Greatest Hits sound dated.



The very good Russian music reviewer George Starostin gave Queen only a C rating



http://starling.rinet.ru/music/queen.htm (and that's way too high!) but he,like almost all music critics and reviewers gave The Beatles an A and he only gave them the highest number a 5,and he wrote in bold letters and underlined,*The Highest Rating Ever*








http://starling.rinet.ru/music/beatles.htm









Here Stephen Thomas Erlewine who wrote The All Music Guide's Rolling Stones biography, also says how bombastic and campy Queen were and that despite their being second to The Beatles in popularity,they were never taken seriously by the music critics.


https://www.allmusic.com/artist/queen-mn0000858827/biography



Queen Biography & History AllMusic



The origins of Queen lay in the hard rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Following the departure of Smile's lead vocalist, Tim Staffell, in 1971, May and Taylor formed a group with Freddie Mercury, the former lead singer for Wreckage.Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they began rehearsing.















Queen Biography & History AllMusic




Find Queen biography and history on AllMusic - Few bands embodied the pure excess of the '70s…







Topazthecat said...

Robert Cook,



Brian Wilson has always said that he made the Pet Sounds album because he was so blown away by The Beatles brilliant folk rock album Rubber Soul when he heard it soon after it came out in December 1965.



http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=9547.0;wap2



Here in this 2011 interview Brian Wilson says that he thinks Rubber Soul is a better album than Pet Sounds and that he thinks Rubber Soul is the best album ever.




http://www.nme.com/news/music/the-beach-boys-35-1286165



Also in an excellent Beatles book Ticket To Ride by Denny Somach where so many other well known popular respected rock musicians and artists are interviewed about The Beatles praising them including Jimmy Page,Brian Wilson who says he's always loved The Beatles. And Brian Wilson called John & Paul the greatest song writers of the 20th century on a 1995 Nightline Beatles tribute show,(which had on music artists from every type of music,a young black jazz musician,a middle aged black opera singer,Steve Winwood,Meatloaf,and classical violinist Isak Perleman,who said he plays his children Bach,Beethoven Mozart and The Beatles)and he played With A Little Help From My Friends on the piano and he said he just loves this song. He also said that Sgt.Pepper is one of the greatest albums he ever heard and The All Music Guide says in their Beach Boys biography,that Brian had a nervous breakdown after he heard it.


http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beach-boys-mn0000041874/biography



Brian also said that when he first heard The Beatles brilliant 1965 folk rock album Rubber Soul he was blown away by it.He said all of the songs flowed together and it was pop music but folk rock at the same time and he couldn't believe they did this so great,this inspired him to make Pet Sounds.


Brian Wilson has always said that he made the Pet Sounds album because he was so blown away by The Beatles brilliant folk rock album Rubber Soul when he heard it soon after it came out in December 1965.



http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=9547.0;wap2



Here in this 2011 interview Brian Wilson says that he thinks Rubber Soul is a better album than Pet Sounds and that he thinks Rubber Soul is the best album ever.



http://www.nme.com/news/music/the-beach-boys-35-1286165





John Lodge and Justin of The Moody Blues are interviewed in this book and Bill Wyman and Ron Wood says how The Rolling Stones became good friends with The Beatles in 1963 after John and Paul wrote 1 of their first hits,the Rock n Roll song,I Wanna Be You're Man.




Ron Wood was asked what his favorite Beatles songs and he said there are so many apart from the obvious like Strawberry Fields I Want To Hold Your Hand is one he said he used to like a lot ,and he said he really loved We Can Work It Out.He also says that The Beatles used to have a radio show every Friday where they played live and spoke and he would never miss an episode. He said in fact whoever has the rights to those shows should dig them up,because they are incredible.




Justin Hayward says that the album he always really loved ,and he said it was when they started experimenting with chord structures ,was A Hard Day's Night.He says they began to move away from the standard 3 chord thing and just went into more interesting structures .He said A Hard Day's Night was the album for him and their song If I Fell was the song.He said it started in a different key to how it ended up,and it's a beautifully worked out song and that there are some songs on that album that were very emotional and evocative. He said that for everybody just starting to write songs as he was,it was a real turn on and eye opener.