Jagger vs. Richards and Lennon vs. McCartney: Two Very Different Songwriting Rivalries

Lennon and McCartney wrote together in the same room for years before drifting apart; Jagger and Richards never really wrote together. From the start, Jagger handed Richards a lyric notebook, and Richards built a riff around it. That process made their rivalry less about who wrote which line and more about who controlled the final shape of a song — and in the 1960s, the balance shifted dramatically.

When Jagger dominated, the songs favored wordplay and social observation over guitar hooks. “Play With Fire” (1965) is nearly all Jagger — a brittle, class-conscious monologue with barely any guitar. “Lady Jane” (1966) is the same: baroque, lyrical, no Keith riff at all. “19th Nervous Breakdown” (1966) is Jagger’s vocal tirade over a groove that Richards later called “not really our thing.” These are Jagger-directed singles.

When Richards took over, the riff became the centerpiece. “The Last Time” (1965) was built from Richards’s chord pattern after he heard a Staple Singers record; Jagger wrote the lyrics on top, but the song