It looks like the long-standing rivalry between two of the main belligerents in the mid-sixties' "British Invasion" are finally burying the hatchet, with surviving members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles reportedly working together on new music.
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According to Variety, multiple sources have reported that former members of The Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, will be a part of the next Rolling Stones record, with the latter already laying down bass parts for the as-yet-untitled project being led by 2021 GRAMMY Producer of the Year Andrew Watt during recent recording sessions in Los Angeles.
Back in 2021, Stones frontman Mick Jagger told the L.A. Times that the band had been working on "a lot of tracks," and that new music was indeed "on its way." The Stones' 2016 covers album, Blue & Lonesome, is the group's latest release, and a new record would make the first bit of newly collected material since 2005's A Bigger Bang. New music would almost certainly include performances from late drummer Charlie Watts who passed in 2021, as well as the band's current backbeat provider, Steve Jordan, who prior to his passing, Watts had personally selected to fill in for him.
Paul McCartney was recently asked in a Q&A posted to his website about what he was looking forward to in the new year, to which he answered, “I’ve been recording with a couple of people, so I’m looking forward to doing even more. I’ve started working with this producer called Andrew Watt, and he’s very interesting -- we’ve had some fun.” Macca added, “beyond that, I don’t have anything massive planned... at the moment!" Whether or not Ringo Starr will be on the same tracks as McCartney on the new Stones release is still up for speculation, but would certainly mark a milestone in the careers of everyone involved.
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Fans will certainly remember back in 2021 when McCartney referred to The Rolling Stones as a “Blues cover band” during an interview, which in turn got a bit of a laugh from frontman Mick. Rivalries aside, both groups admire each other deeply, as guitarist Keith Richards noted in an interview with Rolling Stone. Describing McCartney as "a great guy," he said he "got a message from Paul" after the quote came out saying, "‘If you’ve read this s***, it’s all out of context, believe me, boys.’”
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This news, of course, follows up on Stones' guitarist Keef's update to fans at the start of the new year filling them in on some big plans for 2023. "There is some new music on the way and hopefully we’ll get to see you," Richards teased. "Anyway, let’s keep our fingers crossed."
Producer Andrew Watt took home two GRAMMYs this year for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton and the late Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins on Ozzy's 2022 release Patient Number 9. He has also created hits with Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, Elton John, Britney Spears, and more.
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