Bob Dylan says The Rolling Stones are the ‘last’ great rock and roll band – but hated their cover of his song

High praise from Bob Dylan saw The Rolling Stones credited as the “last” great rock and roll band.

But the Mr. Tambourine Man songwriter had no interest in the band’s cover of his song. The Rolling Stones would cover Like a Rolling Stone in the mid-1990s for their live album, Stripped. Though it may be an odd choice for the band to perform the Highway 61 Revisited song, frontman Mick Jagger‘s praise for Dylan made a cover of his work almost inevitable. Jagger had dubbed the Ballad of a Thin Man songwriter a “guru of lyrics” but was somewhat dismissive of Like a Rolling Stone, saying it was a “nonsense” song. Even then, it formed part of a live album which The Rolling Stones would tour, along with the occasional appearance from Dylan.

Dylan was full of praise for the band, and irrespective of his thoughts on their cover of his work, was clear in calling them the “greatest” of all time. He said: “The Rolling Stones are truly the greatest rock and roll band in the world and always will be. The last too. Everything that came after them, metal, rap, punk, new wave, pop-rock, you name it… you can trace it all back to The Rolling Stones. They were the first and the last, and no one’s ever done it better.”

Though they may be the best band to do it, and by Dylan’s admission, nobody does it better, few have received as brutal a rejection as The Rolling Stones did. Dylan was unconvinced by the band’s cover of Like a Rolling Stone, which was released in 1995. Though Dylan was no fan of the song, he would perform it with them a handful of times, and not always in the best of spirits.

Dylan said of the band in its current form: “I love Mick Jagger. I mean, I go back a long ways with him, and I always wish him the best. But to see him jumping around like he does — I don’t give a shit in what age, from Altamont to RFK Stadium — you don’t have to do that, man.”

His opinion on their cover of Like a Rolling Stone was no better, with Dylan questioning the point of jumping around to his Highway 61 Revisited classic. He added: “It’s still hipper and cooler to be Ray Charles, sitting at the piano, not moving shit and still getting across, you know? Pushing rhythm and soul across.

“It’s got nothing to do with jumping around. I mean, what could it possibly have to do with jumping around?” Even Jagger found it to be a strange addition to their set, telling Rolling Stone Magazine that it, along with several songs featured on the live album, Stripped, marked some interesting choices for the group.

He said: “And we got a few unusual tracks going on, which is always good for a live record—not original songs but reworked. I think Like a Rolling Stone was unusual to do. We’ve never done a Dylan song.”

Despite the pair not seeing eye to eye on the Like a Rolling Stone cover, Dylan did join the band for a performance of the song in a now-infamous gig. Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes recalled the startling moment Dylan allegedly “flipped off” The Rolling Stones after an on-stage appearance.

He said: “We’re behind Keith’s amps and The Stones had Like a Rolling Stone as their single in Europe for that tour, the Voodoo Lounge cycle, so they’re going to have Bob sit in.

“Bob comes walking right beside me and Rich, and he’s wearing the exact same outfit [as Mick Jagger]. He walks out on stage, and The Rolling Stones are The Rolling Stones, they’re the greatest rock band of all time.

“They’re playing a Bob Dylan song, Bob is sitting in. The ‘Stones don’t jam, they don’t deviate. They come up to Bob’s turn, so the band bigs it up, and Bob goes to the microphone, and doesn’t sing anything.”