Great rock and roll bands are sometimes made or broken by their chemistry. There are many instances where the musical chemistry just never seems to work. Just because a label puts two rock icons in the same room doesn’t mean they’ll walk out with God’s gift to music. As much as Mick Jagger might be able to claim to have popularised rock and roll, Keith Richards recalled that collaborating with Gramme Parsons never sparked his imagination.
Initially, Parsons was never meant to be on the same level as The Rolling Stones. Everyone believed that the California rocker would be the one to popularize country music. The Stones were more than willing to occasionally play a country song when they weren’t covering one of Keith Richards’ amazing licks.
However, it’s not as though Parsons was unfamiliar with hooks. His work with The Flying Burrito Brothers was sure to spark conversation. Especially when he started making his debut alongside other country rock icons like Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. His work with The Byrds had helped them embrace the sounds of the Southern US.
Richards saw more than just another rock star, even though the Stones were on the other side of the ocean. He saw Parsons as a musical partner with whom he could share ideas. British legends were already gravitating towards rootsy material on songs like “Dead Flowers.” It was possible that they would take some cues from Parsons’ playing.
“Mick and Gramme never really clicked, mainly because The Stones are such a tribal thing,” Richards told Rolling Stone. Despite this, he loved working with Parsons in between takes during Exile on Main St. Mick was also keeping an ear out for what Gramme was doing. Mick has hearing. The three of us would occasionally be jamming out to Hank Williams songs while recording Exile on Main Street in France and waiting for the rest of the band to show up.
Richards is probably right about half the time, even if Jagger agreed. Anyone who has listened to “Dear Doctor” and heard the frontman attempt to put on this southern belle accent in the song’s second half will likely understand. He means that he could never take the songs seriously, even though he liked the way they sounded.
Of course, there were undoubtedly moments when Jagger felt a little envious of the projects Parsons was undertaking. It was inevitable that Jagger would get a little irritated to see his partner working with this new up-and-comer. Since he and Richards were the two-headed monsters who wrote songs for The Stones.
There were a few tense moments, but Jagger never had to worry about Parsons taking his place. “Exile on Main Street” would undoubtedly sound like a Stones record. Jagger could sing down-and-out country music one day and rip the place to pieces the next, as long as he could roll with the punches.
