Rolling Stones were in the shadow of the Beatles from the very beginning, and this fact disturbed them a lot. On the other hand, most of the fame went to the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones constantly felt their superiority. To be different, they tried to become the anti-Beatles. The legendary Beatles were a pioneer of hard rock: the musical influence of the song Helter Skelter led to the emergence of heavy metal (Covach and Bell 28). The influence of The Rolling Stones on the formation and development of rock music cannot be overestimated. It was significant not only in music, like the Beatles but also in artistic and visual, image and mass media terms.
In songwriting development, the Rolling Stones tried hard to keep up with their competitors, but it was not easy, and they seemed to be one step behind. A lot of what they did was a reaction to what the Beatles had already done. For example, when a sitar began to sound in the Beatles’ composition, it immediately appeared in the Rolling Stones. The Beatles, with their working-class origins in provincial Liverpool, sought to maintain an elegant image (Covach and Bell 28). They dressed in decent suits, cut their hair neatly and short, and communicated politely with everyone. The Rolling Stones did the opposite: they wore black leather clothes and looked and behaved provocatively.
In 1964, when The Beatles first came to the US, it was called the British invasion (Covach and Bell 28). The Beatles took all five first places in the Billboard singles chart at once and became the only ones who were able to set such a record (Covach and Bell 28). The Rolling Stones also achieved success in the US, mainly through shocking exposure, but they did not shake the Beatles’ position. Many of the rock bands of the 60s, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, are seen as irreconcilable rivals. The reasons to think so are quite weighty: they played different music and had different images. However, both groups have influenced music around the world and have become one of the most recognizable – this is their main similarity.